Open Street Map
Introduction
Open Street Map is an open database with an interactive map and editor, accessible to the entire internet community. Run by volunteers and sustained by donations, the goal of Open Street Map is to promote the work of volunteers to create a massive, non-profit mapping service for all users and use cases. Prior to its introduction in class, I was unaware of its existence. Given the vast logistical requirements of services like Google Maps and the conceivable consequences of amateur mappers being entrusted with the task, I hadn’t envisioned such a website being particularly useful. Alas, I was pleasantly surprised, and I intend to document my experience using it for the first time.
Processes
My time on this project was divided between 2 different activities: Using mapswipe to complete important tasks for Medecins Sans Frontieres and using Open Street Map proper to add tiles for some unmapped entities in my local area. Below, I detail the contents of both exercises.
In my time using Mapswipe, I analysed satellite images to find houses in a myriad of remote locations around the world. A human hand in these tasks allows for the creation of significantly more accurate maps. In addition to verifying whether a building exists in a certain era, users can flag territory that is obscured or unclear, where the image is inadequate to make an appropriate judgement. The regions that I mapped in my time using the application included but were not strictly limited to:
- Jumla province, Nepal
- Rio San Juan North, Nicaragua
- San Juan de Amara, Meta, Colombia
- East Sepik, Papua New Guinea
On the other hand, my usage of Open Street Map was significantly more specific and personal; in my local area, I noticed a number of properties and individual buildings that were part of larger establishments but unaccounted for by the map. In particular, I noticed detached houses in local residential areas and estates that were missing; these were likely the oversights of somebody not entirely familiar with the area. I added similar touches to local schools, where small details like a changing room and a courtyard were neglected. While not necessarily critical, these efforts create a more organic, accurate map that better reflects the depicted areas and gives people additional depth and perspective.
Impacts
Much of the effect of my work was to affect the humanitarian efforts of Medecins Sans Frontieres by contributing voluntarily to their mission to map remote locations, as referenced above. It is difficult to understate the importance of these tasks, as they facilitate the work of Mapswipe’s partners to help people at disadvantage, particularly in less developed areas. Mapswipes’s partners include: The American Red Cross, The British Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross, HeiGIT, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team and Togglecorp.
These partners use the information from Mapswipe to perform data analytics and co-ordinate complex operations. Humanitarian work benefits immensely from knowledge of the local infrastructure, which can support the creation of plans for distribution of resources. Furthermore, areas of the populace with specific needs can be identified and targeted specifically. Other benefits are specific to instances of crisis, such as natural disasters or changing factors of climate, weather or terrain. The dynamic, constantly changing nature of these factors can merit the intervention of volunteers who can evaluate the info and provide vital, up-to-date diagnostics on the severity of situations.
A framework also exists for the more widespread distribution of data through organisations like Togglecorp, which specialise in accumulating data, applying and visualising it in useful ways. They extend these services to an even wider range of multi-national organisations with a variety of aims, including British embassies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and numerous other organisations that collect and manage data. In contributing to mapswipe, the changes I make are propagated through a vast chain of different institutions that can apply them in meaningful ways.
While it may be difficult to visualise from mere tapping on a screen in a mobile phone application, the miniature tasks I partook in fit pristinely into a significantly bigger picture. When these small additions are aggregated in large data sets, they’re added to the data arsenal of analytical juggernauts and used to augment greater operations and undertakings. In addition, Mapswipe allows users to identify flaws in certain satellite imagery, where it is impossible to ascertain any valuable information from them. This is extremely beneficial for reducing the amount of functionally useless resources at their disposal, filtering to only relevant information.
The impact of my involvement is felt on a much smaller scale with my Open Street Map work. While, unlike Mapswipe, the effects are arguably less remarkable, they are more immediately apparent. Equally, they affect a similarly widespread service on a gargantuan scale. Open Street Map’s services are employed by tech giants such as Snapchat, Apple and Facebook; changes to the database are felt on a huge scale across all of Open Street Map’s users and collaborators.
The results are very much tangible. It is empowering and meaningful to contribute to the online model of your local area and to improve its representation. There is a major philosophical question, akin to an analog tree falling, in the existence of things that remain undocumented in a digital world. There is increasing pressure on digital signals that represent real life phenomena to be meticulous, as digital services such as mapping become more and more crucial in the modern world. Simply put, any representation of the real world should be close to meticulous. There is a tremendous satisfaction to be taken in reifying your community and your own personal space.
Personal Learning
Through my learning discovery of Open Street Map and Map Swipe, I grew to realise the incredible scope and potential of open, voluntary projects that aim to provide the masses with accessible, quality information that can improve lives. I was previously familiar with the likes of Wikipedia and various fandom wikis that achieved these aims on a text-based, niche scale. It cannot be overstated that an interactive mapping service is not a mere novelty, these databases have incredibly noble goals and use cases that validate the diligence of their users and volunteers.
I also realised the individual potential I had as an amateur user and often onlooker in the internet mapping space. I’ve often taken these services for granted; I now appreciate the significant human factor in not just their development, but their upkeep and quality of life over time. This experience has inspired me to explore the mapping space further and investigate open access databases like it more in the future, incorporating more of its ethos into my future projects. I understand the great merit of crowdsourcing and gathering from a diverse pool of global users, and the value of aggregating the results in a form equally accessible to everyone.
Incorporating Into My Life
As mentioned, in my future professional and personal endeavours, I will always do my best to implement as many of these principles as possible into my work. Where it is possible to rely on an open solution like Open Street Map rather than a closed, licensed alternative, I will do so. In a similar vein, I will also continue to contribute to Open Street Map and Mapswipe whenever I can. It is apparent to me that in an age where corporate greed has taken the reins of innovation, it is imperative that well-intentioned parties with broader goals than merely profit and admirable objectives are sustained and supported.
My experience with spatial/crowdsourcing technologies has been enlightening and I have learned much about the potential of human collaboration. Partaking in these online spaces and coordinating with other people can be a significant source of meaning. Even mundane, mechanical tasks of seemingly little importance can accumulate to make a big difference. In keeping these tools in mind, I can use them to propel my work in the future.
Citations
- “MapSwipe.” n.d. Mapswipe.org. https://mapswipe.org/en/.
- “Togglecorp.” n.d. Togglecorp.com. Accessed April 25, 2024. https://togglecorp.com/.
- “OpenStreetMap.” n.d. OpenStreetMap. https://openstreetmap.org.