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I live in Cromwel New Zealand and my city map is old and missing a lot things, even one of the oldest suburbs here... So who updates these maps?

asked 10 Sep '11, 06:02

Sheyk's gravatar image

Sheyk
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I had a similar query - I live in a new-ish suburb north of Hamilton, New Zealand, and my area is entirely missing from OpenStreetMap. I have started walking the streets with my hand-held GPS, uploading my tracks and drawing in all the roads & paths (using Potlatch2). I'm rather enjoying it, but it does seem a long-winded way, and rather error-prone. Is there some way to do a bulk upload, for example from data held by LINZ (Land Information New Zealand)? I don't believe that all the existing mapping on OSM has come from ordinary bods like me walking the streets and uploading their gpx files! So where did it all come from and how can it (quickly and accurately) be updated?

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answered 22 Feb '12, 07:35

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KatyAndScott
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  • Looks like the process of getting LINZ imports approved for ODBL is ongoing. Given that they were ok with CC-BY-SA I guess it's just a matter of time.
  • One can also use some aerial imagery to trace roads and improve accuracy. Bing doesn't cover all of NZ at high-res yet, but there's hoping it'll get better.
  • You'd be surprised how much OSM data has been surveyed manually. Local knowledge is the strengh of OSM, and local surveying is where it comes from. It's less cumbersome if the area was previously armchair-mapped, of course.
(22 Feb '12, 09:45) Vincent de P... ♦
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answered 22 Feb '12, 08:21

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KatyAndScott
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You update these maps. The idea is that anyone can help make a map that can be used by anyone. The map is made and maintained by the community.

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answered 10 Sep '11, 06:39

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Gnonthgol ♦
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edited 10 Sep '11, 11:41

Frederik%20Ramm's gravatar image

Frederik Ramm ♦
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5

See the [beginner guide][http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Beginner's_Guide] to get started. It's not only usefull, it's fun :)

You can also check if there are any active mappers near Cromwel, either by asking on a [local mailing list][http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/MailingLists], or by [watching for recent edits][http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OWL_(OpenStreetMap_Watch_List)] in your area. They might be able to help more directly, especially if you team up with them.

(10 Sep '11, 20:35) Vincent de P... ♦

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question asked: 10 Sep '11, 06:02

question was seen: 5,708 times

last updated: 22 Feb '12, 09:45

NOTICE: help.openstreetmap.org is no longer in use from 1st March 2024. Please use the OpenStreetMap Community Forum