Earlier this week, Google released Google MapMaker in the U.S. The tool, which enables users to add their own point, line and polygon features to the Google basemap (e.g. coffee shops, short-cuts across campus, soccer fields) has been available internationally since 2008 as a means for generating detailed local datasets for under-mapped areas. The tools in the Google … [Read more...]
NPR Story on Crisis Mapping in Japan
Last week NPR ran a story on crisis mapping in Japan - focusing on the open-source, citizen-driven Sinsai.info website. Here's the description from the NPR website: Open source software called Ushahidi allows people to add and update information to maps that anyone with an Internet connection can access. In Tokyo, a crew of volunteers is using the software to map everything — … [Read more...]