OpenStreetMap
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
I would say that this process is an immensely fun way to kill a few hours, and I hope to come back in the following days and weeks to continue my journey. Mapping Jeff won’t be easy, but I hope it will be useful to somebody.
Signed, Grive
Discussion
Comment from benoitdd on 3 May 2022 at 08:05
Welcome Grive, I hope you’ll have much fun building the map in you neighbourhood!
Just a warning: we are not allowed to use data from Google, either googlemaps, earth or streetview. If available, the street pictures from BingStreetSide, KartaView or Mapillary are a good sources. (for example, there is Bing Streetview pictures available for Allison Lane and Utica Pike)
Comment from o_andras on 3 May 2022 at 13:41
Welcome and thank you for your contribution!
I would also add that making smaller changesets is good practice. It makes it easier for people to review them, it prevents you from possibly losing some work, and makes it easier to revert changes if needed.
Comment from Mastrick_Mapper on 5 May 2022 at 11:58
Welcome to OpenStreetMap!
Like the previous users has mentioned, using Google map data and imagery is not permitted due to legal reasons. However, here is a list of imagery sources you can use.
If you need help, there is a community Discord server with very helpful and knowledgeable individuals (from all over the world) ready to help and guide you. The OSM Wiki has very good documentation and guidelines on how to map.
All in all, have fun on your mapping journey and don’t hesitate to ask for help.