[Talk-us] Federally Funded Research R&D Centers: landuse=military?

[stevea]

>On 5/25/2012 5:41 PM, stevea wrote:
>>I muse whether "Federally Funded Research and Development Centers"
>>(FFRDCs) are amenable to either "landuse=military" or something like it.
>>I'm not proposing a vote because this may be peculiarly USA-centric.
>>(Then again, maybe it isn't, as there may very well be similar entities
>>in other countries).
>
>Sounds like an office (landuse=commercial), no matter who funds it. 
>CERN is landuse=industrial amenity=science_park: 
>http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/151918731

Thank you NE2:  landuse=industrial (rather than commercial) + 
amenity=science_park sound like a correct combination of tags based 
on what I know (and is publicly available) about LLNL.  I was not 
aware of amenity=science_park though 'tis true, this tag  is 
"Abandoned (inactive)" according to OSM's wiki.  But if it is good 
enough for CERN, it is good enough for very similar facilities in the 
USA:  the comparison is accurate if not exact.  At least 
landuse=industrial colors mapnik appropriately, an important 
consideration allowing map users to more-or-less properly visually 
parse the semiotics OSM does its best to convey.

I estimate that similar (in function, but not location, i.e. not a 
sprawling 1 square mile complex of buildings bur rather an office in 
an office park) facilities should get exactly the same set of tags. 
My reasoning is that such research is often uniquely industrial in 
nature (usually laboratories in the natural/physical sciences), 
rather than commercial, which might apply to, perhaps a civilian 
think tank or something like the Defense Language Institute, the 
latter IS tagged landuse=military due to it being part of the 
Presidio in Monterey, California.  In short, the more that is known 
about the activities at the facility (difficult or impossible in some 
cases, I grant), the closer the tags can be made to apply.  Military 
police at a guarded gate and perimeter fencing do seem to tip landuse 
into military, one might successfully argue, regardless of zoning or 
function.

If a (smaller) facility is in an area which (by local zoning 
ordinances, for example) clearly indicates landuse=industrial, that 
should guide.  Accurate tagging gets difficult in a 
landuse=commercial office park where a single office building is an 
FFRDC, as in Greg Troxel's example.  I don't think that a "boring 
2-story office building" should become a microcosm landuse=military, 
but whether its activities are compatible with landuse=commercial or 
landuse=industrial may be a valid question, whose ultimate resolution 
may be somewhat difficult to ascertain.  In that case, local zoning 
can guide, but again, sans fencing and guards, landuse=military 
doesn't seem correct.

I appreciate the thoughtful answers and contributions made regarding 
this topic; thank you.

SteveA
California