In preparation for an upcoming video, I fell into another rabbit hole, this time about village pounds/ animal pounds, whatever you want to call them. I won’t go into the tagging scheme which I came up with, but which is recorded on the wiki.

It was fairly easy in England and Wales, where plenty of photographs on Wikimedia with coordinates were provided. The coordinates weren’t always 100% correct, but the well preserved structures are easy to spot on aerial imagery. Historic England and Cadw combined also have hundreds in their databases which I only consulted to get the reference numbers, not to import locations! ~~~ The old Pound in Blundeston, Evelyn Simak / The old Pound in Blundeston ~~~

The situation in the Republic of Ireland is very different, very possibly also for historic reasons which I might go into in the video, but not here. I found 4 recorded as pre-1700 monuments and one as a post-1700 monument. I could find not a single photograph on Wikimedia.

… See full entry

Just stopping by on my way home this rainy morning and noting to myself to come back and set aside an afternoon to update “H-Town.”

• H-Town Market
• Walnut & Twine (Google Maps)

… See full entry

I have noticed that ÖPNVKarte is not being updated since August 22 2023. Does anybody have any info about why it is not being updated

I recently had the privilege of attending the State of the Map Africa 2023 conference in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The event, focused on “Open Mapping as a Support Tool for Local Development in Africa,” provided a platform for diverse perspectives and insightful discussions over three engaging days. Representing YouthMappers from Tanzania and GeoTE-Tanzania, I actively participated in various sessions, sharing experiences and insights on harnessing open mapping for community betterment.

Mapping Trees for Climate Change Resilience. In my first session, I delved into the critical role of open mapping tools like OpenDataKit in mapping trees for climate change resilience. The discussion highlighted practical approaches to leverage these tools, emphasizing the importance of mapping initiatives in building climate-resilient communities. The power of collaborative mapping became evident as we explored strategies to enhance environmental sustainability through open mapping.

Gender Inclusion in OSM Africa. The second session focused on gender inclusion within the OpenStreetMap (OSM) community in Africa. In a lively panel discussion, we explored avenues to improve gender representation and participation. It was inspiring to share ideas with fellow panelists and conference participants, brainstorming on practical steps to foster a more inclusive OSM environment for everyone.

Building Sustainable Open Mapping Communities Across Africa. The final panel discussion, led by Mr. Innocent Maholi from OpenMap Development Tanzania, delved into the theme of building sustainable open mapping communities across Africa. Joined by panelists Ezekiel Kiariro, Nathalie Sidibe, and Severin Menard, we exchanged insights on strategies to create enduring mapping communities. Our discourse covered topics ranging from community engagement to resource mobilization, leaving us with a roadmap for nurturing vibrant and sustainable mapping ecosystems.

… See full entry

I hope poking fun a little is acceptable. :) Happy mapping, all!

A simple diary entry to share a date that means a lot to me: last Sunday (07/01/24) marked ten years since my first contribution to the project. 🙂

In the past, as I’ve traveled, I’ve found it pretty easy to find a library when I need one. I have offline maps from OpenAndroMaps that I use with OruxMaps. I open it to my search area and ask it where the libraries are and it gives me a few. Suddenly this is failing. Perhaps it was already failing and I wasn’t finding as many as are there.

The first failure was in Etna, California. OSM directed me to a parking lot with no library around it. Luckily, I had signal that worked and could find an address 1.5 blocks away. This mark got moved when I got home.

The second failure was in Ely, Nevada. This is the county seat. There is no way they don’t have a library. My map said no. Again, I had some signal and was able to find an address. It’s a big building next to the courthouse, well lit and full of books and has excellent internet. Now that I’ve located it on OSM, I found it was marked as a post office. There’s one post office in Ely and it’s off on the east edge of town. USPS doesn’t know about this one. It’s all better now. The White Pine County Library lives!

The third failure was in Hawthorne, Nevada. This was a lesser failure. When I was lazy and just searched for something with the word “library”, I got nothing. But when wandered through the menus to search the type, I got it. It just needed to be named. Now it is the Mineral County Library.

Before, I had suspected that someone had gone through and systematically added libraries. Maybe they have and just haven’t gotten to Nevada and northern California. In Utah, I was even able to find out about the tiny library in Bluff, housed in the old jail! It’s so small it was only open 2 days a week for a few hours. At that time, it was one of the only libraries that left the internet on while closed. (I’m glad a lot more do this now. Is there a tag for that?)

Anyway, libraries, very important mapping and there’s some still in need!

Dear OSMBD Voting Members,

We are thrilled to share the exciting news about the upcoming OSM Bangladesh Election 2024! Since the formalization of our official structure in February 2023, we’ve witnessed incredible growth and collaboration within our community.

🔔 Important Dates: Nomination Submission Period: Jan 05-12, 2024 Nomination Verification: January13-14, 2024 Nomination Announcement: January 15, 2024 Nomination Withdraw Final Date: January 17, 2024 Candidate Campaign: January 18-25, 2024 Manifesto Presentation and Q&A Session: January 20, 2024 Election Day: January 26, 2024 Results Announcement: January 26, 2024

🌐 Election Process Overview: The nomination period is now open! We invite dedicated individuals and passionate voting members about contributing to the OpenStreetMap Bangladesh community to submit their nominations.

Engage in community meetings and campaigns where voting members discuss and deliberate on candidates’ contributions, visions, and goals.

Cast your votes on the specified date to elect the representatives who will shape the future of OpenStreetMap Bangladesh.

Here is the Election RULES & REGULATIONS

Eligible voter information at HERE

📝 How to Nominate: Fill out the nomination form with your details. Share your vision for OpenStreetMap Bangladesh.

Submit your nomination through NOMINATION SUBMIT FORM

🤝 Get Involved: Participate actively in the upcoming election process to help shape the future of our community. Your involvement is crucial in building a stronger, more vibrant OpenStreetMap Bangladesh.

Let’s make this election a testament to the collaborative spirit and dedication within our community. Together, we can continue to map a better future for OpenStreetMap Bangladesh.

If you have any queries, reach the Chair of EC azizulalamtoton@gmail.com (Email)

Best regards,

OpenStreetMap Bangladesh Election Commission

Inflated Tea

So I am just learning Open Street Maps, but after the Massive Inflation that has come along, leaving coffee and tea prices at a gobsmacking 35-40 krona (3-4 Euro), I have set about trying to map cheaper spots in my home city of Stockholm. Here is a list, where Coffee and/or Tea is 15:- - 20:-. My first attempt did not turn up in searches - I guess the “Description” field doesn’t work for that.

Since toilets often cost 5:- 10:- kronor in Stockholm – a truly foul practice! – I have included information in this list as to which offer them for Free. There are several Panini Internazionales that do not have seating. I have only listed places where you can Sit here …

You should also know that public libraries also charge money for the priveledge of going to the bathroom in Stockholm, so they are not a good bet for Free places to sit - disgusting and fascist!

I have not included McDonalds, Max, Burger King or other fast food places here because I have trouble with the way the smell (or lets be honest- stink) of the disgusting food they sell. What is more, they are all on the HIGH side of cheap, charging at least 24:- or 25:- to sit in their nasty establishments with a small coffee or tea. Panini and the Grocery store cafes are chains, but innocuous ones as chains go, and I have done my best to locate locally owned cafes that don’t bar anyone who isn’t rich from sitting in their establishments by not having a single thing a normal person can afford.

Cheap Cafes to Catalog So Far

PANINI INTERNAZIONALE HAS 15:- small Coffee and Tea Panini Internazionale near Östermalmstorg (has toilet!)

Panini Internazionale Gallerian Mall (mall toilet is 15:- - ouch!)

Panini Internazionale in Västermalms mall (mall toilet is 10:-)

Panini Internazionale in Östermalmstorg subway exit plaza (no toilet)

Panini INternazionale Mall of Scandanavia (mall toilet is mercifully still free of charge)

OTHER PLACES:

… See full entry

Adana 2024 To do:

1. Fix some old blocks. – Done
2. Update South Mahfesığmaz – Done
3. Map Huzurevleri (Done), Yüzüncüyıl – PARTIAL
4. Add buildings for Toros, Mahfesığmaz and Yurt
5. Improve highways

I know that Nodes means something else in OSM but still trying to come up with a better term for what I have started considering nodes - namely areas that are a bit ambiguous in terms of what street they are ‘on’ because they are large enough to envelop or border a few different ones, and / or just very large parks, complexes, etc. that deserve their own dedicated exploration. One of these such not-nodes that we mapped today was St Luke’s Hospital / medical complex. We mainly walked around the outside and a few of the front entryways, mapping items like benches, trash cans, bicycle parking, art / memorial plaques, cameras, two mail drop boxes, one bus stop, and the chapel.

I was particularly interested to find a small sitting area with sculptures and memorial plaques which I hadn’t expected to see. I do have one annoyance with OSM, which I hope I can discover how to improve at some point: when I add a memorial plaque, I get a “fixme” telling me that it should be merged with a nearby building. Worse, some of the plaques that happened to be close enough to the building automatically merged with it. The problem is, these plaques were actually attached to freestanding sculptures in a courtyard / outdoor seating area and were not mounted on the building at all. One was free-standing next to a memorial tree that had been planted. I am not sure if there is a way to merge them with a sculpture, and for the ones that auto-attached to the building I could not figure out how to un-attach them.

Another node-like object that we looked at was a small cul-de-sac called Pearl street, that runs north-south for just a few blocks perpendicular to 43rd, near Sway coffee. We took the opportunity to return to Sway, this time driving instead of walking, and realized the parking (other than 5-minute spaces for folks getting takeout) was very limited. Pearl was mostly residential but had one church.

… See full entry

Dear OSM Bangladesh Voting Members,

The elected Election Commission has announced the exciting news about the upcoming OSM Bangladesh Election 2024! Since the formalization of our official structure in February 2023, we’ve witnessed incredible growth and collaboration within our community.

🔔 Important Dates:

Nomination Submission Period: Jan 05-12, 2024

Nomination Verification: January13-14, 2024

Nomination Announcement: January 15, 2024

Nomination Withdraw Final Date: January 17, 2024

Candidate Campaign: January 18-25, 2024

Manifesto Presentation and Q&A Session: January 20, 2024

Election Day: January 26, 2024

Results Announcement: January 26, 2024

🌐 Election Process Overview:

The nomination period is now open! We invite dedicated individuals and passionate voting members about contributing to the OpenStreetMap Bangladesh community to submit their nominations.

Engage in community meetings and campaigns where voting members discuss and deliberate on candidates’ contributions, visions, and goals.

Cast your votes on the specified date to elect the representatives who will shape the future of OpenStreetMap Bangladesh.

Here is the Election RULES & REGULATIONS

📝 How to Nominate:

Fill out the nomination form with your details. Share your vision for OpenStreetMap Bangladesh.

Submit your nomination through NOMINATION SUBMIT FORM

🤝 Get Involved:

Participate actively in the upcoming election process to help shape the future of our community. Your involvement is crucial in building a stronger, more vibrant OpenStreetMap Bangladesh.

Let’s make this election a testament to the collaborative spirit and dedication within our community. Together, we can continue to map a better future for OpenStreetMap Bangladesh.

If you have any queries, reach the Chair of EC +8801713120157 (Whats app text only) azizulalamtoton@gmail.com (Email)

Well this is interesting. I’m curious..

Community-Driven Tech Development in Open Source

Sometime ago in 2019, out of curiosity I asked a friend who was a community engagement person to explain her job to me. What exactly is the role of a “community engagement person?”. Could it be just another title for a social media manager, or content creator?

Well, my friend loved her job and her explanation was plenty, but let me break it down and explain the role of community engagement.

I have come to the conclusion that some job titles can be used interchangeably, like Software Developer and Software Engineer. Whichever title you choose to have on your profile, the responsibility is the same. I feel, most companies use either for what suits their brand archetype.

… See full entry

The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is bounded on the west by the BC/AB boarder and on the east by the municipal district of Pincher Creek.

Alberta Highway 3 passes through this municipality.

My edits in Changeset: 145865015 are as follows.

Change highway=trunk to highway=primary

From the Canada Tagging Guidelines for Primary Roads primary roads are typically 2-lane, undivided, provincial highways. This description is accurate for Highway 3 through the Crowsnest Pass.

See also the Alberta Highway Classification Guidelines

highway=trunk, however, is suggested for “the national highway system”.

Contrary to my change, the National Highway System page on Wikipedia lists Highway 3 as a core road in the national highway system. This may need reversion.

Change to name=20 Avenue and nat_name:en=Crowsnest Highway

Within the Municipality of the Crowsnest Pass, Highway 3 is labelled on street signs as 20 Avenue. This is similar to how Highway 1 is also 16 Avenue through the City of Calgary.

The Canada Tagging Guidelines for Named Major Highways explains that when a named highway also has a street name, tag:name should be used for the street name and tag:nat_name should be used for the highway name.

Changes to maxspeed

I have personally surveyed the speed zone changes.

The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass also posted a map of speed zone changes that took place in 2019

Other resources

Crowsnest Pass GIS

I’ve created a changeset which fixes 117 links to Wikipedia disambiguation pages on segments of I-15 in Utah as identified by https://matkoniecz.github.io/OSM-wikipedia-tag-validator-reports/Utah,%20USA.html

In a nutshell, this change updates the wikipedia tag value, changing it from a disambiguation page to a specific article:

Old Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Memorial_Highway

New Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Interstate%2015%20in%20Utah

This work is part of a larger MapRoulette challenge, https://maproulette.org/browse/challenges/40609, created by osm.org/user/Mateusz%20Konieczny to address problems with Wikipedia links in OSM data.

Rather than completing 117 separate MapRoulette tasks I downloaded JSOM data using the following Overpass API query and performed a bulk edit.

[out:xml][timeout:90][bbox:{{bbox}}]; ( way["wikipedia"="en:Veterans Memorial Highway"]; ); (._;>;); out meta;

As this is my first large-scale edit I have tagged the change as needing a review –I will also ping matkoniecz so that the validator report summary page can be updated.

Welcome to the summary of work done in the fourth year of Divide and map. Now. – the damn project that helps mappers by dividing a big area into smaller squares that people can map together.

Four years ago, the damn project was developed to constructively criticize the HOT Tasking Manager. (HOT stands for the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team.) I see that the limitations of the HOT Tasking Manager persist, that it is not getting better, and that the developers of the HOT Tasking Manager can still benefit from constructive criticism.

In this diary, I will first recap the functionality and scope of the damn project. Then I will write about the work in 2023 and the work for 2024.

Functionality and scope

To understand the damn project, let us break it down into four main components, each of which has its own repository: the server, the web clients, the JOSM damn plugin, and the deployment guide. The deployment (for sysadmins) brings up the damn project. The damn server (for backend developers) contains the core service – JSON API to the PostGIS database. The JOSM damn plugin connects to the damn server so that mappers do not have to open the web browser to contribute to OpenStreetMap when using the damn project. Finally, the web clients repository (for frontend developers) contains the code base for multiple web clients.

The features available to mappers are divided into the JOSM damn plugin and the web clients, as the damn project serves multiple groups of mappers and recognizes these groups.

… See full entry

… See full entry

I have the suspicion that my phone is tagging the GPS location for some photos rather wrongly (timed offset is my guess). Found this out when comparing the locations against those indicated on JOSM photo overlay.

This despite the phone getting both L1 and L5 signals, and running with no sim card which should reduce cpu load further since there’s not much background processes that need to be handled.

To say I’m pissed is rather an understatement. Moving on, I will try leaving the phone to only record gps track and then matching photos from my cameras to that. No electronic shutter so extra wear and tear on that mechanical one! Shoulda bought that oly em10 back then.

Day-27

• I wish you all a fantastic new year, 2024 to you. I hope this year will bring new challenges, new things to learn, and new findings with atma samikhyan.
• Pascal’s sites are up; I am in the top 4 now.

Bhubaneswar, Odisha

• Almost all central Bhubaneswar building mapping I have completed.
• The next task will be to complete the peripheral areas.
• Next, I will start adding PoIs into the buildings. I am unsure if marking buildings and adding PoIs simultaneously is recommended or if I plan to return for the PoIs in the next phase.
• I am going to Bhubaneswar next month to gain some on-the-ground knowledge on new developments around.

Rest of Odisha

• Malkanagiri roads addition is almost complete.
• Koraput roads addition just started near the Andhra Pradesh and Odisha border.

Looking ahead

• The progress is pretty slow, and I do not know how many days or months I will need to map the entire Odisha. Can I do it?
• To speed things up, should I start an OSM Odisha group? I’m not sure if any other person will be interested.