The Map Room

The Ordnance Survey made a bunch of its mapping data freely available on April 1; lists of downloadable data are here and here. ESRI Mapping Center discusses the data; via AnyGeo, GeoWeb Guru and Mapperz.

The Independent covers the release in the context of the OS’s long history. (Update: So does the Times.)

From British prime minister Gordon Brown’s speech today on “Building Britain’s Digital Future,” as prepared:

And following the strong support in our recent consultation, I can confirm that from 1st April, we will be making a substantial package of information held by Ordnance Survey freely available to the public, without restrictions on re-use. Further details on the package and government’s response to the consultation will be published by the end of March.

Via Mapperz.

Previously: Ordnance Survey Free Data Consultation Period Closes.

Okay, I think I’ve got it now. In two earlier posts — this one and this one — I linked to plain-language rewrites of a consultation paper called Policy options for geographic information from Ordnance Survey, which came out on December 23, 2009, when I was busy and missed it completely (what with the holidays and all; I’m sure that’s always a coincidence when government documents are released when no one’s paying attention). That paper opened a consultation period that closed today; the Grauniad’s tech blog looks at some of the comments to date (via Mapperz).

Here’s the full report by Simply Understand on the opening up of Ordnance Survey data (see previous entry). Via Mapperz. Alternate link.

Simply Understand takes a stab at what the opening up of Ordnance Survey data (see previous entry) will mean, in plain language. Via Mapperz.

Satellite and Aerial Imagery Last night, Google released imagery of Port-au-Prince at even higher resolutions (15 cm) than before (above). The images were taken on Sunday, January 17, and will be available in Google Maps, in Google Earth by some…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Holy shit. Pinch me, check the date to see that it’s not April 1, then read this British government press release: “The Government will consult on proposals to make data from Ordnance Survey freely available so it can be used…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Facebook app whereyougonnabe? gets an upgrade focusing on integration with other platforms (previously). Diana Eid takes a look at map art, focusing on three artists we’ve seen before: Matthew Cusick, Elisabeth Lecourt and Susan Stockwell (via GeoCarta). On the…  •  Continue reading this entry.

OpenStreetMap contributor Gregory Marler moved to Durham to begin a university degree, but the OpenStreetMap project does not have a lot of data for Durham. Marler has therefore hit upon the idea that he would not only contribute Durham data…  •  Continue reading this entry.

J. B. Post’s page on U.S. map copyright litigation covers more than two centuries of case law. The earliest is Blunt v. Patten, an 1828 case involving a nautical survey; the latest is Alexandria Drafting Co. v. Amsterdam, a 1997…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Maps are taking a curious central position in the controversy over former U.S. president Jimmy Carter’s new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. A former executive director of the Carter Center resigned over the book, charging that it contained inaccuracies and…  •  Continue reading this entry.

This is an interesting development: Yahoo! is letting OpenStreetMap use its aerial imagery. If that isn’t a boost to the project, I don’t know what is. I wonder what’s behind this move. See also The Earth Is Square and Geobloggers….  •  Continue reading this entry.

National Geographic News has a story about the OpenStreetMap project — useful for giving it some context. Part of a series on “digital places,” with more articles forthcoming. Via OpenGeoData. See previous entries: OpenStreetMap at Where 2.0; OpenStreetMap Animations; Ed…  •  Continue reading this entry.

In California, Santa Clara County’s digital mapping data is so expensive to licence that they prevent “all but real estate developers, utility companies and insurance companies and other deep-pocketed customers from accessing it. The fees can go into the hundreds…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Steve Coast’s Where 2.0 talk on OpenStreetMap is now available in MP3 format from ITConversations. Via OpenGeoData. See previous entries on OpenStreetMap: OpenStreetMap Animations; Ed Parsons on OpenStreetMap; OpenStreetMap: Manchester’s Next; OpenStreetMap to Map Isle of Wight; OpenStreetMap London Poster…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Brady Forrest, covering FOSS4G2006 for O’Reilly Radar, links to some fascinating animations from the OpenStreetMap project. This one tracks two days’ worth of courier activity in London: There are also videos that track the growth in GPS traces for OpenStreetMap…  •  Continue reading this entry.

U.S. government data is ostensibly public domain, but as Jared Benedict, the force behind the Libre Map Project, discovered, you still need to pay for it sometimes. Jared was trying to make USGS 1:24,000 topo maps in DRG format…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Ordnance Survey CTO Ed Parsons has a positive take on the OpenStreetMap workshops, despite their positioning themselves as the archenemy of the Ordnance Survey: I am fully behind the efforts of Steve Coast and the OpenStreetMap movement to create copyright…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Having mapped approximately 90 per cent of the roads on the Isle of Wight last weekend (see previous entry), the OpenStreetMap project now turns to Manchester for its next workshop this coming weekend. Via Boing Boing. See previous entries:…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Via Boing Boing, news that the OpenStreetMap project will attempt to map the entire Isle of Wight this coming weekend. OpenStreetMap’s goal is to produce freely available, copyright-free mapping data for Britain. Unlike the U.S., where government information is public…  •  Continue reading this entry.

A Calgary mapmaker has been fined C$8,000 for making a cheap knock-off of a competitor’s city atlas. The judge ruled that Commodore Allen’s AMI Calgary Street Atlas infringed the copyright of Sherlock Publishing’s atlas of Calgary, saying that the differences…  •  Continue reading this entry.

Publishers frequently use “copyright traps” to prove that someone plagiarized their work. Without evidence of the actual act of plagiarism, it’s difficult to prove that someone publishing a rival phone book, dictionary or encyclopedia didn’t just copy material wholesale from…  •  Continue reading this entry.

More on the attempt to produce GIS data for the UK independent of Crown copyright (see previous entry: there will be a Forum on Open Geodata on April 14 in London; see the link for speakers and details. From the…  •  Continue reading this entry.

OpenStreetMap “is an effort to produce free (CC-licensed) streetmaps of the world.” It’s in “pre-pre-pre alpha” at the moment. The idea is to get free data by running around with a GPS, analysis of aerial photography or other methods since…  •  Continue reading this entry.