<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body text="#333399" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<p><font face="Verdana">Thank you for clarifying the "development"
context Fernando.</font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana">I live in East-Africa and as you might now
we use the adopted highway classifications as described on <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Highway_Tag_Africa#Typology_of_Road_Network_in_African_countries">https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Highway_Tag_Africa#Typology_of_Road_Network_in_African_countries</a>
and <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/East_Africa_Tagging_Guidelines">https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/East_Africa_Tagging_Guidelines</a>
. These work well for us for the majority of the countries, and
are like stevea said, a bend (but not break) our wiki
definitions.</font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana">In the recent years, some large
infrastructure projects led to the construction of
express-ways. We call them express-ways because it refers
specifically to the name given to these roads by the governing
authorities. Like with all things in Africa, the access
restrictions are rather "grey" or not strictly followed. If you
look at the physical road construction, they are absolutely not
safe to be used by the local boda boda bikes (less powerful
motorcycles used as taxis) and pedestrians. However, this is
not clearly signposted on the links. Neither could we find any
(yet) update in related legislation. To make things even worse,
the roads are referenced by local markers as "M" roads,
indicating to their classification as a motorway, where since
long time legislation and clear restrictions are gazetted and
signposted. We mapped them by considering sections which have
junctions or buildings accessible from the highway with or
without traffic lights as being to be tagged as expressway= yes.
Most of the buildings along these express ways are accessed by
service roads (driveways) from the expressway and due to the
absence of any clear link roads, using the shoulders as safe
lanes for slowing traffic. <br>
Other sections, can be distinguished by having a toll gate at
the beginning and the end, where the access restrictions for
these roads are clearly signposted and can be easily enforced.
This situation of course might change in the future as we might
get motorways without toll.<br>
<br>
We have done some attempts to align the national highway
reference coding (A which includes motorways, trunk and primary
roads, B as secondary roads, C as tertiary according to majorly
their socio-economic significance), district roads which contain
major urban roads or feeder roads (U) are mostly defined as
tertiary roads. Local roads are either residential or when they
have a feeder function or interconnection function we tag them
as unclassified. The national coding systems exist since the
colonial times, which in my case were British, so it might
explain why for us the general OSM system fits. Not so the case
(any-more) for motorways and express ways when we look at the
recent developments.<br>
However, as described before we can handle the express ways and
distinguish them as either motorways, primary roads or trunk
roads using the existing system. Confirming stevea and Minh as
the currently existing expressway=yes as sufficient. No need to
create another highway=* class based on access restrictions.</font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana">Greetings,</font></p>
<p><font face="Verdana">Bert Araali<br>
</font></p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 22/02/2021 17:21, Fernando Trebien
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:CABcWbR7pFBpgZ3V8GWRcDaAysMQ9kniexT4Ce1sa1+GkgFmBpQ@mail.gmail.com">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">On Mon, Feb 22, 2021 at 10:50 AM Bert -Araali- Van Opstal
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:bert.araali.afritastic@gmail.com"><bert.araali.afritastic@gmail.com></a> wrote:
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Be careful when you use the term "developed". Local communities become offended.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
"Developed" should only be understood as "reached its full economic
potential", and developing, "getting there". There's no intention of
offending anyone. The OSM wiki uses the expression "built area", which
is essentially the same idea, so "developed" would mean "fully built"
while "developing" would mean "being built".
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Developed in which sense, as creating paved highways, as being able to incorporate natural materials and tracks in a natural environment, I wouldn't call them developing in general.
They are much more developed in the sense of experience and integration of highways in a luckily still mostly pristine natural environment. I can't say that of most of the regions in the western world.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
So, my point is that using only the physical characteristics for
highway classification in OSM ends up indirectly encoding into the
road network the regional and local wealth gaps, not reflecting their
socioeconomic importance, [1] which is the concept adopted by HOT. [2]
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">Better use terms like in tropical countries, southern hemisphere etc.., these countries are much more developed in many senses.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
I come from a developing tropical country in the southern hemisphere
and I partially agree. Each country and each system has its pros and
cons.
</pre>
<blockquote type="cite">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">(This is a kind remark as a counterbalance to the western domination :) ). Maybe the HFCS should be regarded as not a favourable development, an example of a "developing" nation when it comes to climate change and respect for the environment.
</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">
Here in Brazil, the commercial cartographic tradition is to classify
ways according to their importance for mobility in specific contexts.
In remote areas, most streets in the city are unpaved, but even some
unpaved streets are the "main" streets. If the classification does not
reflect this, OSM becomes useless as a guide for moving around. The
same is often true on larger regional scales. So, HFCS's ideas about
"function" could be applied, but certainly not the associated physical
profiles.
[1] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Proposed_features/Highway_key_voting_importance">https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Proposed_features/Highway_key_voting_importance</a>
[2] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Highway_Tag_Africa#Values_based_on_economic_and_social_dimension_of_the_road">https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Highway_Tag_Africa#Values_based_on_economic_and_social_dimension_of_the_road</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
</body>
</html>