NACIS 2019

Mapillary: GIS Data from Roadway Imagery and Computer Vision
Presenter: Sam Finn, Mapillary Inc
In addition to traditional data, a significant number of national, state, and local road authorities across the globe drive every kilometer of their road network to collect roadway imagery for monitoring, inventory, project planning, budgeting, and safety analysis. More and more government agencies are releasing this valuable imagery as open data hosted via Mapillary, making it available for visual reference in GIS tools, as well as automatically generating new vector map data. As the national debate on infrastructure spending continues, smart use of roadway imagery can help maintain and improve map data with lightning-fast turnaround using Mapillary and computer vision.

An Atlas of Space: Mapping Open Astronomy Data
Presenter: Eleanor Lutz, Tabletop Whale
An Atlas of Space is a collection of ten astronomy maps designed with open-source data and code. To name a few, the maps include an animated visualization of the seasons of Earth, the geology of Mars, and everything in the solar system bigger than 10km. In this talk I'd like to discuss techniques such as visualizing orbit dynamics, logarithmic distance scales, displaying missing data, and developing a cohesive design style for a map collection reaching from the Earth to outer space.

Cartography and Community in OpenStreetMap: Getting Native Reservations on the Map
Presenter: Alan McConchie, Stamen Design
I review the many steps involved over the past year to bring Native Reservations to OpenStreetMap. While some forms of cartography can feel like a solitary pursuit, making changes to the map style on OpenStreetMap is a massively distributed and community-led venture. Adding a new kind of feature to the map requires an extensive process of negotiation involving volunteers all around the globe, and passing through multiple thresholds of ontological, technological, and representational concerns. Using the case study of Native Reservations I illustrate the rich complexity of how diverse individuals work together to create a collective map of the world.

Mapping Refugees with Open Data in National Geographic Magazine
Presenter: Riley Champine, National Geographic Magazine
The Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda is a makeshift home for a quarter million people fleeing South Sudan. Armed with smartphones, some refugees led by the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team are building an extensive database of schools, businesses, water sources, and more, in an effort to map their virtually uncharted new home. To tell the story of Bidibidi, National Geographic utilized the same database and created a map that provides a close-up look at a new city built by refugees. This presentation will discuss both the technical and creative process of mapping a refugee settlement with data collected by its inhabitants.