Well, after a good 2 years of mapping Saint Petersburg, Florida, I’m finally moving.

It’s been a real good time here, and there was (and is still) and lot of work to be done. I found myself adding entire skyscrapers that were new since the last major batch of changes to the area. Massive changes in property from gentrification and the constant shuffle of downtown businesses means that much of where I mapped had to be updated, and after COVID, I’m sure many of the businesses I added will have to be removed.

I started adding sidewalks to the general Downtown Saint Pete area, and worked to expand them. I think sidewalk routing as an accessibility possibility is important. I also think bicycling is important, so I made sure to add as many bike parking amenities as I could find.

There is still so much to do here. There are many addresses missing, many businesses still missing and the new pier has yet to be updated as it was only just completed. I doubt there is adequate aerial imagery of it yet.

Mapping St. Pete also taught me a first hand experience of the privilege inherent in mapping. The more affluent areas of our city were far and away better mapped than the poorer sections. As I was fortunate enough to live downtown, this was where I focused, especially since I didn’t often have time to go on mapping exclusive expeditions. So, as I write this, and having spent countless hours updating this part of the world, I reflect that there’s more that I can do and could have done. There are large swathes of Pinellas County that are no more than a road and increasingly out of date building footprints. There are many businesses missing, sidewalks are missing, addresses are missing, much less fire hydrants, benches, trash bins and other amenities that make life better.

At the moment, there are few active mappers in Saint Pete: the Amazon roadbuilders seem to be the most active after me. I wonder how long it will be before someone else comes in and takes the reins? I hope not long.

Thanks St. Pete, I’m off to map elsewhere!

I really only got into OSM in this last year, precipitated by a change in locale, I wholeheartedly set out to get to know my new town of St. Petersburg better. Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about both the town and inevitably about the culture and mechanics of OSM as well.

My primary goals right now are: 1. Make my own locale usable in my maps app as a worthy replacement of google. 2. give back by joining other projects such as Mapping Metro Tulsa (which still needs more hands on deck if we want to finish it within 5 years).

For number 1, I’ve been adding sidewalks and crosswalks to make better walking predictions as well as slowly updating the center of town. It appears that the city has been rapidly changing both in terms of buildings and stores. The city that was mapped a few years ago is remarkably different than the one now. Adding stores and restaurants (as well as simply addresses) is one way of building the metaphorical nest. Additionally I’ve also focused on adding interesting aspects of the city: especially such as the SHINE Murals that are a major face of this place.

As for Number 2, I’m still learning all that I can. There are many gaps in the OSM project: such as truly FOSS, ad and tracker free navigation apps, tons of missing data, proper navigation, etc. With time I think I can contribute more than just drawing in houses for hours.