[Accessibility] seeking input on blog post for International day for persons with disabilities and OpenStreetMap

Thu Nov 26 09:37:07 UTC 2020

Hi Mikel and list!

I add two projects that in Italy are mapping the level of accessibility of sidewalks:

- PEBA [1] in Padova;
- ViaLibera [2] in Milano;

Both the projects start from the idea of mapping the sidewalks of OpenSidewalks project. The mapping in both the project is done by people with disabilities and new OSM contributors. In Milan, a high school was involved in the mapping.

Moreover, Wikimedia Italia the OSMF local chapter started the creation of a web tool [3] dedicate to the visualization and the use of accessible data.

Best,
Lorenzo Stucchi

[1] https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/PEBA_Comune_di_Padova
[2] https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/ViaLibera
[3] https://www.wikimedia.it/percorsi-agili-una-web-app-per-linclusione/

Il giorno 25 nov 2020, alle ore 23:58, Nick Bolten <nbolten at gmail.com<mailto:nbolten at gmail.com>> ha scritto:

Hi Mikel! Hope it's okay to put together our response to both emails.

> Do you think this blog post is a good idea?

Yes! OSM has unique potential to contribute to accessibility projects and awareness about those projects and OSM would be very helpful.

> Is this particular day worthwhile to highlight?

I'm not sure what day this is but the International Day of Persons with Disabilities is coming up on Dec 3 and it's definitely worthwhile if that's what you were referring to: https://www.un.org/en/observances/day-of-persons-with-disabilities

> Are the specific projects, particularly regional projects, we should be aware of?

Dr. Anat Caspi and I lead the AccessMap (https://www.accessmap.io<https://www.accessmap.io/>) and OpenSidewalks (https://www.opensidewalks.com<https://www.opensidewalks.com/>) projects as part of the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology (part of The University of Washington). AccessMap uses OSM data to create individualized accessible routing plans for people with mobility impairments in multiple cities. OpenSidewalks is a sister project that focuses on the development and creation of OSM-compatible accessibility data, typically in OSM. You can also find us at @TaskarCenter and @OpenSidewalks on social media (mostly Twitter).

> One way I would love your help is if each of you (and anyone else on list) could answer the question "How is OpenStreetMap useful for people with disabilities?" Answer in your own voice in a 2-3 sentences.

When people with disabilities seek out map information, they find that accessibility information is missing or doesn't account for their personal preferences; neither companies nor government agencies are consistently creating connected (network) pedestrian map data flexible enough to meet the diversity of pedestrian concerns expressed by people with disabilities. OpenStreetMap is well-suited to fill this informational gap as it has a flexible and democratically extensible data model, can be mapped out by locals without waiting for an agency or company to dedicate resources or take on liabilities, and all data is immediately published and interrogable by the public. As a result of its infrastructure, community, and open philosophy, OpenStreetMap has allowed our project to provide individualized wayfinding information to more and a larger variety of people with disabilities and to explore more ambitious questions of accessibility than we could do on our own.

Thanks!

Nick

On Wed, Nov 25, 2020 at 11:53 AM Mikel Maron <mikel.maron at gmail.com<mailto:mikel.maron at gmail.com>> wrote:
Jan, Jessica, Holger (we emailed off list) -- thanks! The reception sounds positive so we're aiming to go ahead.

One way I would love your help is if each of you (and anyone else on list) could answer the question "How is OpenStreetMap useful for people with disabilities?" Answer in your own voice in a 2-3 sentences. You can reply here, reply directly to me, or edit into the https://hackmd.io/UrTjPdI7SKusc3neKkCmHA where we are working on the post. I'll then take snippets from the quotes to open up the post.

-Mikel

* Mikel Maron * +14152835207 @mikel s:mikelmaron

On Tuesday, November 24, 2020, 11:13:37 AM EST, Jan Schmalfuss-Schwarz <jan.schmalfuss-schwarz at tu-dresden.de<mailto:jan.schmalfuss-schwarz at tu-dresden.de>> wrote:

Hi Mikel,

i am from the faculty of computer science of the Technische Universität Dresden and currently we work on a project called AccessibleMaps (https://accessiblemaps.de/). On the one hand we want to develop tools for the OSM-Community to support the mapping process of buildings which are tagged with the Simple Indoor Tagging scheme. Additionally we address accessibility features and their representation in indoor maps. On the other hand we want to produce applications for blind, visual impaired and mobility impaired people. These apps should support the different user groups when planning work trips and use SIT from OSM. We think OSM is a good project to make accessibility information freely available. Your idea for a blog post on the 3rd December is great and we would like to ask if and in which way we can contribute to the blog post.

Best wishes,

Jan Schmalfuß-Schwarz

M. SC. Medieninf. Jan Schmalfuß-Schwarz
Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Zimmer: 1062

Technische Universität Dresden
Fakultät Informatik
Institut für Angewandte Informatik
Professur Mensch-Computer Interaktion
01187 Dresden

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Mikel Maron [mailto:mikel.maron at gmail.com<mailto:mikel.maron at gmail.com>]
Gesendet: Montag, 23. November 2020 18:58
An: accessibility at openstreetmap.org<mailto:accessibility at openstreetmap.org>
Betreff: [Accessibility] seeking input on blog post for International day for persons with disabilities and OpenStreetMap

Hello

The OSMF Communications Working Group is considering a blog post to note International day for persons with disabilities, and ways that the OpenStreetMap project creates useful data. This is part of a broader campaign to raise awareness of OSM in connection with current events.

We wanted to ask for input from people working on accessibility issues. Do you think this blog post is a good idea? Is this particular day worthwhile to highlight? Are the specific projects, particularly regional projects, we should be aware of?

Working notes are compiled here: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Foundation/Communication_Working_Group/Blogposts/2020-12_post_01

We'd also love to collaborate on writing this. Let me know if you're interested to get more involved too.

-Mikel

* Mikel Maron * +14152835207 @mikel s:mikelmaron

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