Abstract

The arrival of web-based mapping from Google and others has revolutionised, in the space of only five years, the way many people interact with maps and map data. And the success of projects such as Wikipedia highlight how collation of small amounts of information from large numbers of people – an approach called ‘crowdsourcing’ – can challenge traditional models of data collection and ownership.

Bringing these concepts together is OpenStreetMap, a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. Well-established enterprises such as the Ordnance Survey are coming under increased pressure from this new model, and large companies such as MapQuest and Microsoft are starting to use and invest in it.

Martin, one of two main developers of the leading UK-wide cycle journey planner website, CycleStreets, and a web developer in the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge, will discuss OpenStreetMap, its use within a range of systems (from cartography, routing, and even its central role helping deal with the Haiti disaster), the challenges it poses to traditional forms of data collection.

He will talk about how CycleStreets works, as well the design and innovation challenges that CycleStreets as a social enterprise has faced.