Category Archives: OpenStreetMap

Day 2 – GAW 2023: Contribute to OPENSTREETMAP and MapRoulette

By Activity, Education, Geography Awareness Week, OpenStreetMap, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a publicly created and maintained map of the world – the Wikipedia for maps. Anyone with access to an internet browser can view the map and can sign up for a free OpenStreetMap account to edit and update the map. Edits to the map are reviewed and validated by other members of the community. If you are new to OpenStreetMap, visit their welcome page to a short introduction: https://osmgeoweek.org/guides/intro.

Here are several ways to get engaged with OpenStreetMap:

~ Review your local OSM basemap for accuracy and consider adding community features that are missing or need updating.

~ Spend time working on a Humanitarian OpenStreetMap project. For a current list of priority project visit: https://tasks.hotosm.org/explore

~ Only have a little bit of time? Consider MapRoulette, the game of mini mapping challenges, it breaks OSM work into snack-sized “challenges.” Earn points by fixing validation issues, turning nodes into areas, adding missing tags, and through countless other little tasks that contribute to a healthier map.

Geography Awareness Week: Review and Contribute to OpenStreetMap

By Activity, Geography Awareness Week, Humanitarian Mapping, OpenStreetMap, Outreach, , , , , , , ,

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a publicly created and maintained world map – the Wikipedia for maps. Anyone with access to an internet browser can view the map and anyone with a free OpenStreetMap account can update the map. If you are new to OpenStreetMap visit their welcome page to a short introduction: https://osmgeoweek.org/guides/intro .

Here are several ways to get engaged with OpenStreetMap:

~ Review your local OSM basemap for accuracy and consider adding community features that are missing or need updating.

~ Spend time working on a Humanitarian OpenStreetMap project. For a current list of priority project visit: https://tasks.hotosm.org/explore

~ Consider joining mappers around the globe in the November OSM US 30 Days of Mapping Challenge (each day has themed asset to map): https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/United_States/Projects#30_Days_of_Mapping_-_November_annually

Join in the fun ~ TeachOSM Back-to-School Night ~ September 21

By Activity, Announcement, Education, Event, Humanitarian Mapping, Imagery, OpenStreetMap, Resource, , , , , , , ,

When: September 21st, 2021 8:00 PM through  9:00 PM (Eastern)

Attention educators and mappers! Join TeachOSM Tuesday, 21 September for our first ever ‘back-to-school’ night. We’re offering an informal open house to introduce our programming. This hour-long event will feature brief demos from teachers and mappers to enable you to:

  • Find out more about how you can put OSM in your school
  • Learn how to take advantage of our Map-Alongs and other educational programming
  • Find out how you can get support open mapping education in your community

Sign up now to reserve your space!

OpenStretMap And Humanitarian Mapping – Making A Difference For Others

By Activity, AmericaView, Geography Awareness Week, Humanitarian Mapping, OpenStreetMap, Outreach, Resource, , , , , , , ,

OpenStreetMap is a publicly editable map of the world. It’s is often referred to as Wikipedia for maps. Anyone can sign up for an account and begin adding to the map. Edits to the map are reviewed and validated by other members of the community.

In 2010, OpenStreetMap was used as a humanitarian disaster relief tool after an earthquake in Haiti. Volunteers from across the world mapped buildings and roads from satellite imagery in areas that been damaged by the earthquake. Then teams on the ground were able to use that information to assess damage and begin recovery efforts.

Since that time the use of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap has spread around the globe helping in disaster response as well as disaster prevention and many other humanitarian efforts. We encourage you to take time during Geography Awareness Week to volunteer your time and talent to help with some of the following projects:

Suggested International Projects:

Public Lab Mongolia – https://tasks.hotosm.org/projects/9560/
Public Lab Mongolia (PLM), a local non-governmental organization in Mongolia, is leading the Mongolian chapter for volunteer mappers through the HOTmicrogrant COVID-19 project, as part of their mission to promote open data and disaster preparedness. This mapping will also help with COVID-19 response efforts. This project is to map Ulaanbaatar capital city of Mongolia, is organized by PLM in collaboration with the Mongolian Geo-spatial Association and local universities.

Hurricane Eta – Nicaragua – https://tasks.hotosm.org/projects/9765
Hurricane Eta brought wind, rain and storm surge to the coast of Nicaragua. This project is to finish the basemap of Bilwi (Puerto Cabezas) by digitizing buildings from MAXAR imagery. Available to beginners, there may be tricky tasks in this project as some areas have been partially mapped with older imagery and vegetation can often hide parts of structures. Maker sure to review the instructions for tips on how to overcome these challenges and provide high quality data.

Explore your own project: https://tasks.hotosm.org/explore

Be part of the Global Celebration: Geography Awareness Week 2020!

By Activity, Announcement, Event, Geography Awareness Week, Humanitarian Mapping, OpenStreetMap, Resource, , , , , , , , , ,

Join us this week, November 15-21, 2020, as we celebrate Geography Awareness Week. Throughout we will be posting various activities and videos from our friends at OpenStreetMap, National Geographic, and Esri to help you get engage and get informed.

As a way to celebrate GIS Day and OpenStreetMap, we are encouraging everyone to go online either during this week or on GIS Day and contribute to the OpenStreetMap basemap. If you are interested and would like more information about how to get started, please email, Amy Logan.

If this is your first time using OpenStreetMap, sign up for an OpenStreetMap account: https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/new. Then look over this helpful resource from TeachOSM about how to get started and build proficiency with OpenStreetMap: (https://ubique.americangeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2_buildings_worksheet_1-2.pdf)

Missing your Mapping Peeps?

By Activity, COVID-19, Education, Event, OpenStreetMap, , , , , , ,

Join the OpenStreetMap US Virtual Mappy Hour. Members of the OpenStreetMap (OSM) Community present short, informational talks related to OSM and other mapping related topics. Here are links to some the past and upcoming Mappy Hour topics.

Up-to-date Events Schedule: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Foundation/Local_Chapters/United_States/Virtual_Mappy_Hours (To attend in real-time you will need to register on the form)

Upcoming Events
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 8:30pm ET – Imports with Margaret Spyker

Wednesday, May 27, 2020 8:30pm ET – Topic to be determined

Friday, June 5, 2020 6:30 -8:30pm ET – NY Mapathon Part 1: Mapping houses in the town of Hempstead, NY

Tuesday, June 9, 2020 8:30pm ET – Brian DeRocher, Microcosm

Wednesday, June 25, 2020 – Topic to be determined

Past Events
Thursday, April 30, 2020, Mapathon w/ MaptimeBmore – (watch) Mapping POIs in response to COVID-19 (BNIA Part-1), Mapping POIs with COVID tagging (Part-2)

Wednesday, April 29, 2020, Steven Johnson, TeachOSM. (watch) Discussion around OpenStreetMap in education.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020, Erika Nunez, MapGive: U.S. Department of State’s public diplomacy initiative for open mapping

Thursday, April 9, 2020, Miles Campbell – (watch) OSM and Accessibility: In times of crisis, publicly available information for pedestrian access, especially for those with disabilities, can be invaluable

Wednesday, April 8, 2020 8pm ET, Virtual Validation Mappy Hour hosted by Missing Maps.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT Maggie Cawley & Jennings Anderson, OpenStreetMap US Community Survey Results