07-21, 10:00–10:20 (Poland), Room CA3
I present the process of online automatically generating maps, in which the primary data source is OpenStreetMap. I discuss geometry, keys and tags from the point of view of generalization, editing and personalization of content in terms of user needs.
We have been publishing maps for years. Around 2010, we recognized that the availability of current sources was now complete thanks to the web and geographic databases. However, the Big Data problem has grown the cost of data analysis, and at the same time the quality of free, scalable online maps has increased dramatically, making commercial paper maps unattractive. As a result, expenditure on map printing decreased, many titles disappeared, and many cartographic publishing houses were closed.
We did not want to give up creating maps, because in some situations classic maps have still an advantage over scalable geoportals. So, we have created the ability to automatically create maps on a large scale, with minimal human intervention.
In the customization process, the user has the opportunity to: determine the geographical scope, scale and paper size. In the next steps, one selects the theme and density of content, composition, manner and other graphic aspects. OSM data is downloaded from the Postgre database, the complex process performs editing, generalization, inserts the grid, legend and other elements of the composition, and modifies the colors. As a result, the user receives high-quality file – methodologically correct as much as possible – that can be used in a variety of ways.
The effectiveness of the developed process depends, among others, on how OSM data features such as geometry, keys and tags are used. Examples show the benefits of this data and the problems to be solved.
I've been an active cartographer since 1988. I'm a private publisher of paper maps, plans and atlases. I'm an editor of touristic maps, city-maps, school maps, wall maps as well as maps for magazines and schoolbooks. Presently, I work on automatization in transferring open data to professional, methodically correct maps, ready for high quality printing or viewing.