About Me

Hey folks! I’m Gregory Power (they/them) and I’ve been a part of the map since November 2023. I am currently a Data Scientist (Contractor) for Cary, North Carolina—where I manage Cary’s Open Data Portal and other analytics infrastructure. In my spare time I enjoy learning about urban planning and equitable, multimodal infrastructure. I’m also involved with the Pedestrian Working Group, Government Working Group, and my community’s Strong Towns chapter. I enjoy contributing to the open source geospatial software community, with a soft spot for GDAL, QGIS, GRASS GIS, and DuckDB—so everyone can have the tools to understand the world around them. Even though there’s a great set of tools for us to use, it’s nothing without having an open ecosystem of data.

My Mapping

My first project in OpenStreetMap was tracing plans for Cary’s Downtown Park into OpenStreetMap. With the updated layout, Cary’s Integration and Development Team could have a basemap to put our sensor data on. Once I realized OpenStreetMap data was used by all of our applications across the town and beyond, I was hooked. I enjoy mapping multimodal transportation infrastructure, handicapped parking, and restaurants. I’ve trained team members on conducting field surveys with StreetComplete and captured street imagery with Mapillary.

As a Board Member

It’s important that communities have access to data and the ability to make changes to increase the fidelity of the data. These are the objectives I’d prioritize:

• Outreach to disenfranchised communities. I think this is important, because the OpenStreetMap project and ecosystem gives folks the opportunity to map what is important to them. Its barrier to entry is lower than any desktop geospatial software can provide through its rich ecosystem of tooling and sister projects like OpenHistoricalMap.
• Outreach to government organizations. OpenStreetMap has become the de facto source of geospatial data for many applications and data products. Geospatial departments and their communities can work together to increase the quality of the map. Over the past year I’ve enjoyed seeing municipalities such as Kendall County, Illinois be a model of what data stewardship looks like. Sharing that story with other municipalities may inspire others to do the same. Providing an on-ramp for organizations on how to be team players in the OpenStreetMap community would be beneficial.
• Encourage collaboration across working groups. I’ve enjoyed participating across the Pedestrian and Government working groups. However, the most enriching conversations I’ve had are when I get to hear updates and presentations from members of other working groups. I think it’s worth investing time to share approaches to building communities and engagement amongst working groups.

Empowering others to find solutions to their problems fills my cup. OpenStreetMap provides an ecosystem where we can form mutually beneficial relationships. If anyone has any questions or comments, I’d enjoy hearing from you.