[Talk-us] Neighborhoods / Zillow

[Anthony]

On 2013-06-15 6:51 PM, Serge Wroclawski wrote:

> There is a growing number of OSM folks in the United States (myself
>>> included) who believe that government provided boundry data should be
>>> used for data products such as rendered maps and geocoders, but do not
>>> belong in OSM's core dataset (which is built around the idea of
>>> improvements based on local, verifiable observation).
>>>
>>
Stevea replied:

> Again, this is not a "one solution fits all situations" problem, in this
> thread we have seen that over and over.  Let's continue to allow OSM to
> capture observable data (including aerial and satellite imagery) and local
> government-produced data alike, whether as nodes or polygons, as
> appropriate.  Many other features allow for both types of data structures,
> neighborhoods really are no different.
>

One thing that seems to be missing from Serge's analysis is that much of
government collected data is based on local, verifiable observation.

If the government decides that "Blah Neighborhood" consists of the blocks
bounded by Foo Street, Bar Road, Whatever River, and Whichamajig Railroad,
and then they create a polygon geocoding that, the government has used
local, verifiable observation to create that polygon.  And they aren't
going to get it exactly right.  OSM mappers very well might come along and
fix the border which corresponds to Whatever River, for instance.

I'm not aware of any government node, way, or polygon data in OSM, whose
presence is not disputed, where there isn't some tie to local, verifiable,
observable, on-the-ground features.  State borders are not truly defined by
latitudes and longitudes.  That is to say, even in places where a border is
historically defined as "the 40th parallel" or some specific latitude, the
true legal border does not lie exactly in that location.  Someone may have
historically measured the border incorrectly, and that measurement sticks
as the legal definition.  The latitude of the border may have shifted over
time due to movements in the underlying ground or continental plate.  I
can't think of any border which is legally defined in terms of latitude and
longitude.  And any border which isn't legally defined in terms of latitude
and longitude can be surveyed based on local, verifiable observation.
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