Finding this website, and learning of its potential, I have set off on an endeavor to map my hometown of Jeffersonville, Indiana. My first steps are of the quaint Grandview Drive, McBride Drive, Graceland Way, and Linden Road. My plans are, to put it lightly, ambitious: map, in as much detail, every home, driveway, and freestanding structure I can. So, I got started!

Learning the Ropes

As this is my first time using openstreetmap.org, I had to use the tutorial and play around with the interface to find how I was to approach this endeavor. However, I learn quickly and picked up how to effectively use the program after about 10 minutes of fiddling.

The Roads

The first and easiest fix for the map is aligning the roads properly with the given satellite imagery. After a bit of adjustment, the roads were aligned and ready! The next roads were a but trickier: driveways. They are very frequent, and although monotonous, the method of placement is suitably relaxing. It is very satisfying to successfully place the last one in a row.

The Buildings

Whereas the roads are monotonous yet satisfying to place, buildings are a whole other beast. Using google maps streetview and the main application itself to confirm house number, and street name, was a borderline unbearable process for me at first. However, after a few houses and adjacent buildings, I began seeing the patterns of numeration which accelerated the placement. It is still not fun to do per say, however that satisfaction as with the roads never ceases.

Duffy’s Landing

Duffy’s Landing is a public park and boat ramp upon the Ohio River in Jeffersonville. It is a relaxing place to picnic or sit, and just enjoy the warm air or watch boats mosey past. I updated the service roads, extents, and parking lot of the park proper.

Conclusion

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