[Talk-us] Why does the USA currently lag in OSM map quality?

[Minh Nguyen]

On 2015-02-17 12:30, Bryce Nesbitt wrote:
> Mapilariy is fun... but collecting more data is not necessarily the
> avenue to a better map.
>
> Instead, consider how many people use the map.
> Consider how many people "garden" a particular area of the map.
> Consider how many people enthusiastically map a given feature (e.g. RV
> Dump Stations, Dog Parks, Smoking Zones, Bike Repair Stations, Bear Boxes).
>
> A pile of automatically imported or collected data is really not all
> that interesting or complete.
> I think in the USA the way forward involves finding user communities not
> served by other maps (e.g. Bear Boxes, above).

Reaching out to these communities is right up there with welcoming new mappers. As someone who largely "gardens" a limited region, I was disappointed that some local cycling enthusiasts couldn't be persuaded to contribute to OSM instead of or in addition to Map Maker. But along come enthusiasts for things I'd never thought would have enthusiasts. Add a few city-maintained stairways and someone draws the other 390. Add pylons to a power line and someone quickly adds the voltage. Wheelchair access. Bike polo courts.

Topical mapping can spur local mapping too. I loved the baseball field mapping contest we did a few years ago. [1] It was fun and very easy to hop around the countryside scavenging for baseball fields, and the resulting green diamonds in the middle of nowhere broadcast OSM's micromapping ambition. If a mapper added baseball fields but neglected to improve the surrounding map, the lonely fields sometimes tickled locals into mapping the rest of the park or school.

A modicum of guerrilla mapping can have a huge effect. A few athletic fields and building outlines can quickly snowball into almost every building and driveway in town. [2]

[1] http://bit.ly/OSMbaseball
[2] http://osm.org/go/ZUruk1AO

-- 
minh at nguyen.cincinnati.oh.us