Very interesting situation developed last month within the Russian community of OpenStreetMap. It is illegal to map the location of military facilities in Russia. In fact, a permit is required to do any mapping. The Russian community started a vote (well, in practice and discussion, a non-binding poll) on whether military installations should be removed [...]
“What would it take to map an entire country?”
With the growing visibility of Map Kibera, that question is coming more frequently, especially in Africa, where both OpenStreetMap and traditional mapping are widely absent. This is a massive question, which is going to depend very much on circumstances of that country, and on who is asking [...]
“The SOTM was the opportunity to meet more closely all those people sharing experiences, knowledge, experience and passion for a common project. To feel the real sense of comunity. To have seen the result of working together, of uniting all our efforts.” – Jorge Batista
“The experience has convinced me that the OSM organizational model [...]
following from…
The starting point was 50 cm imagery of Aghanistan, released by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Todd Huffman, known to me from the Beer for Data program, negotiated free use of the invaluable imagery. OpenStreetMap’s response to Gaza demonstrates just one application of the power of easily available imagery. The US government, and many other [...]
Just emailed out this message .. reproduced here for further distribution. Forward and get involved!
Greetings! Hope you are well!
I’m sending out this message to briefly look back at what’s happened in OpenStreetMap Palestine, and announce a new mailing list [talk-ps@openstreetmap.org] to take mapping in Gaza and the West Bank forward. You’re receiving this message because [...]
Over the past week, the response to OpenStreetMap in Gaza has been overwhelmingly supportive. There have been a few exceptional objections, and some common misconceptions, and I want to respond to from my perspective, and perhaps the “OpenStreetMap perspective”. Some of these objections have come from people familiar with operations in Gaza, so I take [...]
Still working on two tasks .. getting imagery in North Gaza, and bringing on Gazans living abroad to help fill in the details. We’re getting close on both counts. It’s taking a few days longer, but that’s life, not everything operates on internet time.
With imagery, we’re trying to pin down the legal rights and [...]
Work has been proceeding rapidly. Quick update.
* The southwest has been traced pretty extensively. Incredible work from OpenStreetMap mappers.
* We’re looking into purchasing satellite imagery for the north or the entirety of Gaza. There’s actually B/W imagery available from yesterday! This may require a fund raiser, depending on the quote we get.
* JumpStart International has [...]
We’re making a push to get up to date maps of Gaza in OpenStreetMap. UN agencies, NGOs, web sites are requesting better maps of the crisis. For one, we are looking to re-activate the partnerships and routing services developed in Haiti last year. AidWorkerDaily has a quick survey of mapping API coverage right now.
Anyone interested [...]
Right now, our first group of mappers are out surveying Bethlehem!
I’m here in the West Bank working with JumpStart International, a NGO that has accomplished amazing things in some of the toughest parts of the world. JumpStart organized programs putting people to work clearing and reconstructing public buildings in Iraq and Gaza. They’ve now started [...]