[Geoinquiets Barcelona] Open source tools look to make mapping easier

Wed Apr 27 02:38:35 EDT 2011

The rapid evolution of tools for mapping open data is an important trend for
the intersection of data, new media, citizens and society. Whether it's mapping
issues <http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/02/fcc-fortiusone-issuemap.html>, mapping
broadband access<http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/02/national-broadband-map.html>or
mapping
crisis data <http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/01/esri-australia-ushahidi.html>,
geospatial technology is giving citizens and policy makers alike new insight
into the world we inhabit. Below, earthquake data is mapped in Japan.

Earlier today, Washington-based Development
Seed<http://developmentseed.org/>launched cloud-based
hosting<http://developmentseed.org/blog/2011/apr/26/mapbox-launches-tilestream-hosting-and-announces-tilemill-appliance>for
files created with their map design suite,
MapBox <http://mapbox.com>.

"We are trying to radically lower the barrier of entry to map making for
organizations and activists," said Eric
Gundersen<http://developmentseed.org/team/eric-gundersen>,
the founder of Development Seed.

Media organizations and nonprofits have been making good use of Development
Seed's tools. MapBox was used to tell stories with World Bank
data<http://radar.oreilly.com/2010/09/widgets-maps-and-visualization.html>.
The Department of Education broadband maps
<http://maps.ed.gov/broadband>were designed with Development Seed's
open source
TileMill<http://developmentseed.org/blog/2011/feb/16/announcing-tilemill-modern-map-design-studio-powered-open-source>tool
and are hosted in the cloud. The Chicago Tribune also used TileMill to
map
population change<http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/census-2010/population-change/index.html>using
open data from the United States census.

Maps from the MapBox suite can be customized as interactive embeds, enabling
media, nonprofits and government entities to share a given story far beyond
a single static web page. For instance, the map below was made using open
data in Baltimore <http://data.baltimorecity.gov> that was released by the
city earlier this year:

"This isn't about picking one person's API," said Gundersen. "This is
working with anyone's API. It's your data. It's your tiles. If we do this
right, we're about to have a lot of good
GIS<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_information_system>folks
who will be able to make better web maps. There's a lot of locked up
data that could be shared."
Making maps faster with Node.js

After making its mark in open source development with
Drupal<http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/02/drupal-distributions-for-open.html>,
Development Seed is now focusing on Node.js.

Why? Speed matters <http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/04/why-speed-matters.html>.
"Data projects really are custom and they need more of a framework that
focuses on speed," said Gundersen. "That's what Node.js delivers."

Node.js <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nodejs> is a relatively recent
addition to the development world that has seen high-profile adoption at
Google and Yahoo. The framework was created by Ryan Dahl
(@ryah<http://twitter.com/#%21/ryah>).
Jolie O'Dell covered what's hot about
Node.js<http://mashable.com/2011/03/10/node-js/>this March, focusing
on its utility for real-time web apps.

(If you're interested in getting up and running with
Node.js<http://ofps.oreilly.com/titles/9781449398583/>,
O'Reilly has a preview <http://ofps.oreilly.com/titles/9781449398583/> of an
upcoming book <http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781449398583/> on the framework.)

*Related:*

   - Maps aren't
easy<http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/04/data-journalsm-interactive-maps.html>

   - Tom Hughes-Croucher on Node.js<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUCHr2H-7_g>

   - Broadband availability and speed visualized in new government
map<http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/02/national-broadband-map.html>

   - 4 free data tools for journalists (and
snoops)<http://radar.oreilly.com/2011/01/journalist-data-tools.html>

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