Data Verification Update

All data entered by our contributors are verified by a team of professional cartographers. We have recently upgraded the verification processes and due to the development of this functionality, no verification was performed during this time. We are now trawling through the back log and expect this process to take no more than 2 months.

This task is performed on a first in first out basis which means that the oldest roads are verified first until we have cleared the backlog. From this point onwards we expect items to be verified within 1 week as was always the case.

For those of you who are unsure of how the verification process works, here is a short explanation: When you create any new feature, it is recorded as an unverified feature and will only be displayed in the Unverified Map. This item is then downloaded and checked over by our team of verifiers which will look at the geometry, code and text of the feature created by the user. The geometry represents the placement of the feature, the code represents the type and the text represents the name such as road names and numbers. If all three items is correct, the feature is verified and will appear in the verified People’s Map layer. If the geometry fails verification, the feature is deleted. Please note that cartographic discretion is used when evaluating the geometry and only data that is totally out of place will be deleted. If the geometry pass, but the code or the text fails, only the text is deleted and the item remains unverified until updated.

Please refer to the following blog article explaining the different layers in People's Map. This article a clearly distinguish between the verified and unverified map.
http://peoplesmap.blogspot.com/2009/01/peoples-map-data-creation-process.html

We are currently developing a traffic light system that will highlight the unverified features with different colors according to the criteria for failing the verification process. Currently it not possible for our users to know if the features they created are still unverified because it has not been looked at or it has not yet passed the verification criteria.

If you have any questions regarding the verification process, please feel free to post your comments on this blog or alternatively contact us at info@peoplesmap.com.

An Act Of CARtography

The People's Map donates maps for Barcelona Bangers Expedition

The XYZ Digital Map Company have provided Salford GIS with a range of People's Map, XYZ, and Global Mapping maps with which to decorate their vehicle for their Barcelona Bangers expedition.

The Barcelona Bangers event is a weekend long rally that sets off from Calais and terminates in Barcelona. Although not intrinsically an event for charity, many participant teams take the opportunity to raise money for a charity of their choice.

Paul Coward and Chris Nelson, from Salford GIS, have bought a “battered [16 year] old BMW”, costing £198, for the occasion and intend to raise at least £3000 for MapAction, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to providing field information and relief maps for disaster emergencies.


The two-man team will be departing from Southport on the 21st of May 2009 to join the other teams in Calais, before heading down to Barcelona on a trek, which lasts from Friday the 22nd, to Sunday the 24th of May... providing the car makes it. The one rule regarding the type of car that the 67 teams can use for their trip is that it should have cost under £200.

The participating teams are encouraged to decorate their vehicles, and in an inspired move, the People's Map in conjunction with The XYZ Digital Map Company, have agreed to provide maps for which to decorate the BMW.




We wish Paul and Chris the best of luck and hope their sub £200 banger makes it to Barcelona.


At least they will not get lost!

Mapping the real world

“A car was left teetering on a cliff edge in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, after the driver followed satnav directions down a Pennine footpath”

This was a BBC news headline that appeared on 25th March 2009 and you can read the piece and watch a video at: http://tinyurl.com/d8ztyh

Contrary to what most people think even the best sources of mapping data can be wrong or misleading. What’s the point? I hear you ask. Well if you look at the aerial photograph of the path involved it is quite clear that this could never be considered to be a navigable road.

The People’s Map creation process using aerial imagery and in most cases local knowledge goes a long way to ensure high quality mapping. While this is not full proof it certainly demonstrates the value of our map making process!

Technical Problem: Missing Map Tiles

The People's Map servers experienced some technical difficulties during the morning, but all functionalities have been restored and the site is stable.

Please be aware that as testing and maintenance will continue through the weekend, the map and photography tiles could disappear for short periods of time.

Don't worry, this technical problem will not affect any of the data you have already or will be creating. The only affect is that there is a slight delay in the time your data appears in the unverified map layer.

We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

New User and Editing Functionalities Deployed

New People's Map website functionalities were deployed to the website this morning. These functions include 1) New data editing functions, 2) New "Your Statistics" section and a 3) improved "Your profile" section.

1) Road Split: The new editing functionality that was deployed this morning allows users to split existing roads. This function will split a road at the point or node you select. This can for instance be used to split a road where a round about is required or where a road was digitised as one, but actually has more than one name.

We will publish a few tips and uses of the split functionalities in the People's Map forum under "Digitising Tips".

2) A new link to each registered user's personal data creation statistics was added to the website. When this option is selected, you will be able to view all your own data creation stats like how many items were created as well as total length (if appropriate). The stats are displayed under the categories Points, Linestrings and Polygons which again is shown for data created in the last 24hours, week, month, year and all time.

3) The Improved User Profile section now allows for registered users to change there registration email address, password and also there secret question. So when you change your email address or would like to change your password, you can do it all yourself.

We hope these improvements create a better user experience for all and please feel free to comment on these functionalities either via the Blog or via the Forum.