OpenStreetMap

Now Hosting: OpenStreetMap Metro Extracts

Chris Gansen 1 Comment

OpenStreetMap LogoThe Smart Chicago Collaborative is happy to announce that it is now providing the computing infrastructure behind Michal Migurski’s OpenStreetMap Metro Extracts project.

The Metro Extracts project provides small, easy to work with segments of the entire OpenStreetMap planet file. Michal has developed a system to automatically generate extracts for 168 major world cities and their surrounding areas. His program uses cost-effective spot EC2 instances and S3 file storage, all within the Smart Chicago hosting infrastructure.

A developer who wants to make a map of the Chicago metro area, for example, only needs to download a 86 megabyte file, instead of the 27 gigabyte planet file. That’s a 99.7% difference! The project also offers data for download in many other formats, including shapefiles that work with mapmaking tools like TileMill. This project will save developers time and effort as they focus on building beautiful, useful maps and applications.

The Metro Extracts project is continually expanding to cover more cities around the globe. Anyone may suggest additions to the list of cities; instructions for requesting a change are on the project’s Github repository.

Smart Chicago is very happy to sponsor OpenStreetMap development, including two upcoming events here in Chicago: a map-a-thon April 20 – 21, and an OpenStreetMap hack weekend, April 27 – 28. You can learn more about those events in our previous post.

Smart Chicago provides free hosting infrastructure for a number of civic developers and projects. For more information, including a signup form to get started, see our hosted web space project.

We are very excited about this project and its potential applications. We look forward to working with Michal to make it easier for Chicago-area developers to use OpenStreetMap data in their applications.

Two OpenStreetMap Events

Smart Chicago 1 Comment

One of the main objectives of Smart Chicago is to help build the infrastructure of civic innovation in Chicago. That’s why we publish so much open source code, host so many apps, and support so many events.

Since so much of  civic innovation relates to place, there’s nothing more infrastructural than the maps upon which we publish information. That’s why we’re stoked to support Ian Dees and the work that he & others are doing around OpenStreetMap.

OpenStreetMap is the wiki-style map of the world. Just like Wikipedia, you can add or change any part of the map, making it better for the community around you. In Chicago, the map is particularly detailed thanks to help from many dedicated mappers and data released by the city. The more people contribute, the better the map will get.

OpenStreetMap

April is a busy OpenStreetMap month in Chicago. They are putting together two exciting weekends of events that we’re supporting along with our partner, Knight-Mozilla OpenNews: the Map-a-Thon and Hack Weekends.

OpenStreetMap Map-a-Thon

Beginning mappers are invited to be a part of a national OpenStreetMap Map-a-thon by learning how to use our tools to improve the map in your area. You can add your favorite restaurant or comic book store, a local school or hospital. During the map-a-thon we’ll walk you through the process of finding your area, creating an account, and making your first edit. With that foundation, you can go on to make an impact by adding tons of information relevant to you and your community!

Attend the Map-a-thon April 20th and 21st at 1871 on the 12th floor of the Merchandise Mart, 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza from noon to 6pm. Participants will enjoy food and drinks thanks to Smart Chicago Collaborative.

For more information about the map-a-thon and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup page for the event.

OpenStreetMap Hack Weekend

If you know your way around a compiler, feel comfortable with JSON and XML, or know the difference between an ellipsoid and a geoid, then the Hack Weekend is for you. We’re looking for those with technical know-how to help make a difference in OpenStreetMap’s core software by writing patches and new software to help make mapping faster and easier. Special thanks to Knight-Mozilla OpenNews for their support and sponsorship.

The hack weekend will be held April 26th and 28th at 1871 from 9am to dinner time each day.

For more information about the hack weekend, please visit the OSM wiki page for the event.