A major issue with "Special:Nearby" is that you are forced to send your current location data (to google and WMF, etc.) or else: you can't use it _at all_. You have to send very sensitive data, and you don't even get explained what you are doing and what is happening. You want to see which Wikipedia articles are nearby your next holiday destination? Not possible.
Why can't we choose nearby: "Eiffel Tower"? Or type any other WP article with a geographic location? Or "drop a pin" on a map? That is not a technical problem, as we can see with "Nearby Pages". Why not give the user a _choice_ and _some control_ of what he wants to see nearby?