OpenStreetMap

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Hydroelectricity and Transmission Planning in Chile Use Open Source Geospatial Tools

We were able to leverage a number of open source geospatial tools, such as QGIS, GDAL/OGR, and the PostGIS extension to the PostgreSQL open source relational database, in order to control the quality of the geospatial data at hand. These tools also helped us carry out the types of spatial analysis necessary to determine relationships between the various objects of value and, on the one hand, the potential hydropower projects, and on the other, the possible alternative transmission corridors. The key to hydroelectric capacity planning in Chile is the ability to generate the maximum amount of electricity, given certain restrictions, while assuring a fixed level of interaction with objects of value.

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Lessons from the Use of Open Source and Open Data in Nepal's Earthquake Relief

The power of an open source project like OpenStreetMap during a crisis like Nepal's earthquake is undeniable, and I had the opportunity to see it up close and personal. I worked with the Kathmandu Living Labs team, where I observed thousands of local and international volunteers collaborating to create data and tools. Responding agencies used the team's work to plan and execute their operations. The philosophy of Kathmandu Living Labs is that by collaboratively building upon existing work, we will reach much further and have a far greater impact than working on problems individually and from scratch...

MapBox Continues To Innovate, Improve With OpenStreetMap

Staff Writer | Directions Magazine | June 9, 2013

MapBox has a straightforward business model: take a good, open source solution; mix in open data and make a better map. It uses OpenStreetMap as a foundation to build open source mapping services that companies like Foursquare and USA Today find very appealing. Read More »

Mapping Apps Go 3D

Jon Doran | OutdoorsMagic | May 30, 2012

There's plenty of choice when it comes to mapping apps these days, but Maps 3D from German developer Movingworld is a bit different in that it shows your track and position on three-dimensional mapping making it much easier to visualise the terrain around you. Read More »

Mapping Mars, Open Source Style

Carl Franzen | TPM | October 5, 2012

While Apple is still sorting out its own maps disaster here on Earth, others are busy mapping the worlds beyond. Take NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover, which on Wednesday posted the first interplanetary “check-in” on Foursquare, the popular geolocation social website. Read More »

MissingMaps: Chart a Course to Disaster Relief From Your Phone

Wired Brand Lab | Wired | June 1, 2017

Delivering life-saving aid to the middle of a war-zone or disaster area is no easy task. First, there’s the challenge of actually getting there. While navigation software now offers detailed maps of most cities, the uncharted villages and remote conflict zones served by Doctors Without Borders/Medécins Sans Frontières (MSF) are another beast entirely. Even though a remote village or unmarked street might be visible in satellite imagery, it can take MSF mappers months to locate, sketch, and code the kind of detailed digital maps aid workers rely on...

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New Maps for Ushahidi

Jinal Foflia | Mapbox | September 2, 2016

Ushahidi has recently switched to Mapbox Streets and Satellite! Ushahidi is an influential crowdsourcing platform that allows users to gather data from a variety of devices with custom surveys and crowdsourcing tools. Ushahidi relies on quality base maps to accurately geocode reports. OpenStreetMap fills an important role by allowing Ushahidi users to contribute and edit map data that is most important for their needs...

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New OpenStreetMap Editor By MapBox Heats Up The Mapping Sphere

Weirzdafier | Mollweide | June 1, 2013

May of 2013 was an exciting time if you are into maps. While Google overhauled Google Maps, OpenStreetMap has unveiled the iD editor by MapBox as it’s new, official map editor. Read More »

Open Source Initiative Names Stefano Maffulli As First Executive Director

Press Release | Open Source Initiative (OSI) | September 8, 2021

The Open Source Initiative ® (OSI), stewards of the Open Source Definition that sets the foundation for the open source ecosystem, is excited to announce Stefano Maffulli as its first Executive Director.  The appointment is a key step for the transformation of OSI into a professionally managed organization, a process that the Board of Directors started in 2020. After an expansive search led by OSI’s purpose-built staffing committee, the Board of Directors appointed Maffulli, an experienced international leader in enterprise and open source environments.

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Open-Source Maps Of California’s Emergency Medical Agencies

Ben Welsh | Los Angeles Times | December 21, 2012

The [Los Angeles] Times is releasing free and open-source files that map out the boundaries of the regional agencies that regulate emergency medical services in California. The release coincides with a Times investigation published Friday that found that outdated technology has frustrated efforts by state officials to measure how well local agencies perform emergency rescues. Read More »

OpenStreetMap Community Helps With Nepal Earthquake Response

Since the devastating earthquake in Nepal, there have been responses from all over the world from relief agencies, governments, non-profits, and ordinary citizens. One interesting effort has been from the crowdsourced mapping community, especially on OpenStreetMap.org, a free and open web map of the world that anyone can edit (think the Wikipedia of maps.) Read More »

OpenStreetMap Database Contains 34 Million km Of Roads And 78 Million Buildings

Geoff Zeiss | Between the Poles | June 7, 2013

OpenStreetMap (OSM) was started in 2004 largely motivated by the expensive and restrictive licensing of the government spatial data available in the UK at the time.  Since then OSM has defined crowdsourcing in the geospatial domain. Read More »

OpenStreetMap Report Maps New Lands Of Growth

Sam Roudman | TechPresident | June 7, 2013

The crowd is teeming with cartographers. At least according to a (very pretty) new data report from MapBox. The report details the explosive growth of OpenStreetMap, a free global, crowdsourced map, started in 2004, which (not coincidentally) is holding its US conference this weekend in San Francisco. Read More »

OpenStreetMap’s Growing Use In Government

Alex Barth | OpenStreetMap US | April 24, 2013

Today the State Department launched its official “Imagery to the Crowd” web site. This solidifies the State Department’s established practice of providing aerial imagery to the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) for fast sourcing of geo data in emergencies... Read More »

State of the Map US By the Numbers

Bonnie Bogle | OpenStreetMap | June 28, 2013

More than two weeks have passed since a packed long weekend in San Francisco for State of the Map US, and we’ve had some time now to reflect and run some numbers. Read More »