[Talk-ca] (no subject)

[Gordon Dewis]

On Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 10:02 AM, Sam Dyck <samueldyck at gmail.com> wrote:

> I beg to differ, the OSM wiki states "The place=locality tag can be
> used to name unpopulated place which is not associated with any
> feature to which such a tag could be associated."
>
> By default many small or unpopulated places are tagged as localities
> in canvec. When I preformed the upload along a remote northern rail
> line, I checked the community against a Government of Manitoba list
> and the census to determine if a place was populated. We do need some
> sort of tagging to indicated the railway significance, but I have used
> place=locality on road locations in both urban and rural environments
> as well (http://osm.org/go/Wpz83vHj2-- and
> http://osm.org/go/Wp5TRnmtN--).
>

*Disclaimer*: *I am speaking only for myself and not in any official
capacity for my employer, Statistics Canada.*

When I think "locality", I tend to think of a place, populated or
otherwise, that has been designated by some level of government, but that's
because of where I work. :)

Statistics Canada had a concept called a "locality" that was used up to the
2006 Census. In 2011 it has been merged with "place name", the definition
of which is "selected named of active and retired geographic areas as well
as nams from the Canadadian Geographical Names Database. Place names
include names of census divisions (municipalities), designated places and
population centres, as well as the names of some local places." The Census
Dictionary also notes that "prior to 2011, the term 'locality' was used to
describe historical place names, such as former census subdivisions
(municipalities), designated places and urban areas." (ref:
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/ref/dict/geo033-eng.cfm)

I seem to recall from when I worked in the Geography Division here that
localities and place names were from "official sources" (i.e. the various
levels of government). Building on that, named points along a railway would
not be considered localities because they are operational reference points
designated by the railway operator, much like IFR intersections used in the
aviation world.

Using place=locality on road locations, on the other hand, would make sense
because of who designated the name.

As I mentioned above, *I am speaking only for myself and not in any
official capacity for my employer, Statistics Canada*.

Cheers!

  --G*
*
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