This task outlines work to improve map data in Africa and the Indian Ocean based on app user feedback. We occasionally receive anonymous user feedback, often related to street names, addresses, road network issues, points of interest and other related features. We plan to correct the data where we can identify that the feedback is valid, using other sources as appropriate listed below. We also plan to update and correct coastline and water features as we find them, and correct and improve land use and land cover polygons where needed, such as airports, national parks, forests, colleges and universities, and so on -- remove duplicates, correct the boundaries, fix incorrect tags and other similar things.
Mapping Guidelines
The team will follow OSM and local policy, along with any other guidelines as appropriate. The team will correct the data using the imagery and data sources specified below as needed.
Our team uses the hashtag #adt (for Apple Data Team) for our edits.
Highways
The team will follow OSM and local highway classification guidelines and policy, along with other appropriate guidelines.
Water
In some cases, the coastline has been mapped using old or low-resolution imagery, meaning that some features are missing or may be inaccurately mapped. We plan to use a variety of imagery sources to help map the coast geometry more accurately.
For inland water, some water features such as rivers or lakes are mapped as lines when they should also be polygons, and others are missing altogether. There are also occasionally issues with relations on water features. We also plan to correct alignment of inland water, rivers, lakes, etc., to improve geometry and adjust coastlines where inland water and coastline meet. All edits will be made using appropriate sources per those listed below.
Some coastlines are connected to lower level subnational administrative boundaries. In that case we will adjust the boundary with the coastline. These are not country boundaries, but things like place, district and county.
Where we see them, we will remove the source=PGS tag, which was from an earlier coastline import that needs to be cleaned up. We received a message on the India coastlines project requesting this, and it is commonly done in other coastline improvement edits.
When in doubt, the team will use the existing tags and data which are used locally. The history in JOSM (ctrl-H) identifies what previous mappers added and their notes and/or explanations regarding changes made. This history can also show if a previous mapper has visited that area or has expert knowledge or sources.
Area of Focus
All of Africa, and islands in the region:
British Indian Ocean Territory
Cape Verde
Christmas Island
Clipperton Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Comoros
French Southern & Antarctic Territories
Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Maldives
Mauritius
Mayotte
Reunion
Seychelles
Tools
The team will use JOSM for completing the task. JOSM has validation warnings for road networks and other possible issues that are important to prevent improper changes.
Our community lead is Teddy Ahlvin and our editing leads are Jon Westlake and Erica Olson.
To get in touch with Teddy, you can email or contact him via OSM.
All of our leads can be reached via email.
Task Description
This task outlines work to improve map data in Africa and the Indian Ocean based on app user feedback. We occasionally receive anonymous user feedback, often related to street names, addresses, road network issues, points of interest and other related features. We plan to correct the data where we can identify that the feedback is valid, using other sources as appropriate listed below. We also plan to update and correct coastline and water features as we find them, and correct and improve land use and land cover polygons where needed, such as airports, national parks, forests, colleges and universities, and so on -- remove duplicates, correct the boundaries, fix incorrect tags and other similar things.
Mapping Guidelines
The team will follow OSM and local policy, along with any other guidelines as appropriate. The team will correct the data using the imagery and data sources specified below as needed.
Our team uses the hashtag #adt (for Apple Data Team) for our edits.
Highways
The team will follow OSM and local highway classification guidelines and policy, along with other appropriate guidelines.
Water
In some cases, the coastline has been mapped using old or low-resolution imagery, meaning that some features are missing or may be inaccurately mapped. We plan to use a variety of imagery sources to help map the coast geometry more accurately.
For inland water, some water features such as rivers or lakes are mapped as lines when they should also be polygons, and others are missing altogether. There are also occasionally issues with relations on water features. We also plan to correct alignment of inland water, rivers, lakes, etc., to improve geometry and adjust coastlines where inland water and coastline meet. All edits will be made using appropriate sources per those listed below.
The team will follow OSM coastline guidelines, waterways policy such as water and natural=water and local policy along with any other policy as appropriate.
Some coastlines are connected to lower level subnational administrative boundaries. In that case we will adjust the boundary with the coastline. These are not country boundaries, but things like place, district and county.
Where we see them, we will remove the
source=PGStag, which was from an earlier coastline import that needs to be cleaned up. We received a message on the India coastlines project requesting this, and it is commonly done in other coastline improvement edits.When in doubt, the team will use the existing tags and data which are used locally. The history in JOSM (ctrl-H) identifies what previous mappers added and their notes and/or explanations regarding changes made. This history can also show if a previous mapper has visited that area or has expert knowledge or sources.
Area of Focus
All of Africa, and islands in the region:
Tools
The team will use JOSM for completing the task. JOSM has validation warnings for road networks and other possible issues that are important to prevent improper changes.
Sources
The team will apply image offsets as needed.
Changeset Comments
The team will provide changeset comments that are in compliance with OSM changeset guidelines.
Where needed, the team will tag corrections with
review_requested=yesso the local community can double check them.Error Detection
The team will check for errors visually and using JOSM validation warnings prior to committing the changeset.
In addition, the team will review its work in accordance with validation guidelines such as the OSM Wiki and LearnOSM.
Contributors
MapRoulette
We have also posted MapRoulette challenges related to the road network: https://maproulette.org/browse/projects/40676
For more information
Our community lead is Teddy Ahlvin and our editing leads are Jon Westlake and Erica Olson. To get in touch with Teddy, you can email or contact him via OSM. All of our leads can be reached via email.
OSM Wiki