Sometimes you come across empty spaces on the OSM map.
People map what things that they have an interest in and that is all fine. It is what map the map what is is today. We have railway enthusiasts, walking enthusiasts, cycling enthusiasts, theme park enthusiasts, etc and they pound the streets and tweak with aerially imagery with crazy details and map what is on the ground.
However others things do get neglected.
What about the things that nearly everybody has little interest in?
Things that people are unlikely to visit (and totally undesirable to visit) in your social circles and do a detailed survey.
Things that serve major functions of society, that are signposted prominently on the ground and all we have are blank wiki stub pages about the amenity because the OSM community we care so little.
Things that Google even have user reviews about.
What do we do about those?
Well on a trip out today I saw a road sign showing directions for one of these such features and it wasn’t on the map. Just a vast empty space.
So in the spirit of embracing social diversity (who knows I might even win the annual OSM diversity award…) I mapped (without a survey and any inside knowledge about to must stress) it from aerial imagery in detail. Mapped a vast area all the buildings, car parking areas, footways, sports pitches, etc. Maybe we (but not me) could have a mapping party there to get more on the ground details…
It was, if you haven’t guessed by now, a prison.
It is what we in the UK oxymoronically call an “Open Prison” and is here:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=17/52.89470/-1.76528
For anyone that wants to look.
(I know we should not link to Google but what a great review.
https://plus.google.com/111913605620881754283/about?hl=en ;) )
Up next to update that blankest of blank wiki page.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:amenity%3Dprison
Capacity, classification, sex of inmates, offering executions on site, etc.
And maybe even go through a list of all the UK prisons and map them.
Location: