OpenStreetMap
I’ve just started around my corner of exurban Hampton Roads, Virginia. I’m really curious how the original materials are mapped because several things were incorrectly placed or not mapped at all (for example one of the nearby post offices and a nearby church while others were mapped). Ah, well, gives me material to add and correct!
Discussion
Comment from Omnific on 12 February 2016 at 19:18
Welcome, and thanks for your work. Always good to see another VA mapper.
Comment from Sanderd17 on 13 February 2016 at 10:47
Hi winnieryan,
The original data in the USA mostly comes from the free governmental TIGER dataset. This dataset had a basic road layout, but overall a low quality with lots of problems.
Other data (churches, post offices, …) are normally added by volunteers (like you now).
If everyone maps his own house (or street), the entire world will be mapped.
PS. If you want to see what an active mapping community can do, take a look at Germany (Bremen f.e.: http://osm.org/#map=17/53.07758/8.80584 ), in Germany, governmental data isn’t free, so everything you see is made by volunteers. I hope that a look at a well-mapped place inspires you to see what can be done.
Comment from SK53 on 14 February 2016 at 13:13
It’s quite likely that many POIs (post offices, places of worship, schools etc) came from the Geographical Names Service (GNIS). These are rarely located accurately (anything from a couple of blocks to a couple of counties out): a real bonus is when someone locally can improve these locations. Good hunting.
Comment from SumnerDo 01 on 16 February 2016 at 15:38
Welcome! I have been working in the area as well, mostly correcting the railroads which tend to be inaccurate.
Comment from SumnerDo 01 on 16 February 2016 at 15:38
Welcome! I have been working in the area as well, mostly correcting the railroads which tend to be inaccurate.