We use maps regularly to navigate, you will likely use a map to get to the venue of this talk. However, most of the maps we use – like Google Maps – have legal or technical restrictions. And they limit creative usage of the map data.
Ever wondered how many trees of the species Saraca asoca (Ashok Tree) are in Lucknow, or the number of traffic lights in any area? Or you might just want to look up the shared auto routes to Fun Republic Mall. These questions can be answered if we have open and good quality map data of Lucknow.
I highly recommend installing CoMaps on your smartphone.
Or you can bring your laptop along to use www.openstreetmap.org.
OpenStreetMap is a free and volunteer-made open map of the world. All the data is licensed under ODbL, which gives everyone the ability to share, produce works, and even adapt the data. However, unlike major European and US cities, the cities of India lack a lot of data.
Adding more data to OpenStreetMap enables a lot of different communities to use the data more effectively. For examples,
A group of cyclists might map public water dispensers.
People who rely on public transport might add shared auto routes.
Pedestrians might add footpaths and their quality.
An electrical engineer might add public electrical infrastructure.
A human rights activist might add locations of local NGOs or LGBTQ Clinics.
All the data is useful in its own way. Adding quality data to OpenStreetMap is as much skill as it is a craft. People from different backgrounds can contribute differently and can be uniquely empowered with OpenStreetMap.
To use OpenStreetMap, you can simply use:
Volunteers can contribute to OpenStreetMap using multiple different software, intended for different use cases.
iD is the default in-browser editor for OpenStreetMap.
StreetComplete is an Android app for casual contributors and beginners.
Every Door is a cross-platform app for smartphones.
You can find more about editors on the OpenStreetMap Wiki.
A mapping party will be organized after the talk to help interested people contribute.
Learn about using OpenStreetMap to navigate
Learn different use cases of OpenStreetMap
Learn about Open Data
Learn about Contributing to OpenStreeMap