[Talk-us] [Imports] Zipcode Import

[jamesmikedupont at googlemail.com]

On Sun, Dec 20, 2009 at 7:23 PM, Katie Filbert <filbertk at gmail.com> wrote:
> I posted some comments on the blog post about zip codes:
>
> For splitting up OSM data, I suggest splitting data up by counties or other
> geographic units (e.g. census tracts).
>
> Zip code boundaries are problematic and should not be imported. In reality,
> zip codes are merely attributes assigned to addresses and street segments,
> and not geographic areas.
>
> People have attempted to create zip code boundaries, though there is no
> standard way of creating them. The Census Bureau's zip code boundaries
> differ from other sources (e.g. county GIS departments). Also, zip code
> "boundaries" change all the time, as new addresses/buildings are added for
> mail delivery.
>
> The only official zip code "boundaries" would come from the USPS, however
> the USPS does not publish them and has them for internal use only. Changes
> in zip code assignments and boundaries are done by a GIS person at the
> regional postal facilities (e.g. in Dulles, VA) who adjusts them in ArcView
> (or MapInfo), without keeping a history of the changes.
>
> For more about issues with zip code polygons, see:
> http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1476-072x-5-58.pdf
>
> If we end up deciding to import zip codes, it should be done only after much
> discussion and with a lot of care. They should be assigned to address
> points, and not as boundaries.
>
> About the data posted to archive.org:
>
> For the Census zip code boundaries, there are the 5-Digit ZIP Code
> Tabulation Area (2002), linked from
> http://www2.census.gov/cgi-bin/shapefiles2009/state-files?state=34.

This is even more detailed,
I have uploaded the osm files :
http://ia341327.us.archive.org/0/items/OpenstreetmapZipcodes/tl_2009_34_zcta5.osm
and
http://ia341327.us.archive.org/0/items/OpenstreetmapZipcodes/tl_2009_34_zcta3.osm

>
> There other versions of Census zip code boundaries, aside from that one.
> From the archive.org link and data link there, I can't tell which it is.

The data I processed was from here :
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/z52000.html
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/z32000.html


Now as a test, I loaded them into josm, loaded a set of data from the
OSM server and searched for an example zip
07827

There is a distinct area covered by this zip code.

Alot of the streets, even the one from tiger did not contain that. All
of the ones found were in the box.

This street for example, clover road, has that zipcode, so I added the
attribute tag "postal_code"
http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/11765580

Now, with all this data, we should be able to automate some of this.
At least the checking of the data.