1.
OSM &
Online
Time
Machines
Building the
world’s most
detailed,
universal, and out
of date, map
SotM US
2012
Portland, OR
13 Oct 2012
Jeff Meyer
jeff@gwhat.org

2.
What’s an
Online Time
Machine?
A general-
purpose tool
that takes you
back to a
specific place
and time.
Basic Controls:
Geo Box
Time Box
Content

3.
2004
Mapping
Across
2009
Time…
It’s
Not
a
New
Idea
…And it’s
not
Just about
2009
Historic
Maps
2009

4.
Economic Q:
Why Hasn’t
It Caught
On in OSM?
Plenty of other
stuff going on
Including day xn + yn = zn
jobs
Mapping today
still unsolved
Many Hard
Questions
Soylent problem:
History is… people!

5.
Why
Now?
Increased
Expectations
Tools getting
better
Mapping & Web
Grasp always
exceeds reach
Temporal
Mapping
Is HOT

6.
What OSM
Can Do Now
A lot!
Community
support
(OSM-H)
Tagging advice
(Buildings)
Common
Environment
(Rails port)

7.
TAGGING
…aaaah,
Tagging.
We love you so.

8.
1850
OSM
History Issues
Tags
Historic=yes? 1900
Date Convention
Nein!
Event Model
Start_date=yes?
Hell yes!
Building Model
1950
That’s not Authoring tools
enough – many
unresolved Processing
issues.
Tools
2000
Frankie
Roberto’s deck
is the word on Manchester sequence
this topic. Frankie Roberto

9.
The
Playa
on
OSM
Mikel Maron

10.
Panic
Time
For
Most
Potential
History
Contributors

11.
Changing
frames of
reference

12.
2012
San
Francisco
Pastmapper
NOTE:
Shoreline

13.
1853
San
Francisco
Pastmapper

14.
OldSF.org

15.
Dubai
Shorelines
OSM
Do Change
1875
1897
1906
1943
Seattle Burke Museum

16.
AUTHORING
Much can be
done in OSM
Lots of historic
geodata doesn’t
“fit” into osm
Still a pain for
time series
Styling
matters… same
data, different
style =
different story

17.
RENDERING

18.
Quick Rendering
Demos
• Mapstory.org: http://mapstory.org/maps/270
• Pastmapper.org
• Oldsf.org
• SVG Rendering
• Torque Demo: http://geocommons.com/maps/
157204
• Geocommons: http://geocommons.com/maps/
157204

19.
Moving Forward on
Moving Backward
• Tag start_date!
• Getting started
• Osm-h discussion
• Sanborn Maps
• Try some test cases
• Real Estate maps
• OSM-H Sandbox
• Warp (easy),
compare, edit,
• Get outside US
repeat

20.
Background Info

21.
Key References &
Contacts
• OSM-H mailing list: lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/historic
• Frankie Roberto’s Mapping History Presentation: www.slideshare.net/
frankieroberto/mapp-history-on-open-street-map
• Shekhar Krishnan & Schuyler Erle’s Open Historical Maps: isites.harvard.edu/
fs/docs/icb.topic39008.files/Shekhar_Krishnan_ABCD_GIS.pdf
• Aaron Cope’s paper on Building=yes
www.museumsandtheweb.com/mw2012/papers/buildingyes

22.
Sites to Check Out
Online
Your local library. ; ) Seriously! It’s
quite a “site”!
• MapStory: www.mapstory.org
• Insurance Maps – Sanborn
• Pastmapper: www.pastmapper.com
• Real Estate Maps – e.g. Kroll or Baist in
• OldSF.org: www.oldsf.org
Seattle -
• NYPL Map Warper: • Business Directories – e.g:
http://maps.nypl.org/warper/
• San Francisco – Adams – from
Pastmapper.com - http://www.archive.org/
• Library of Congress American Memory stream/awmorgancossanfr1852awmo#page/
Map Collection: n7/mode/2up
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/
gmdhtml/gmdhome.html
• Seattle – Choir –
http://cdm15015.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/
ref/collection/p15015coll2/id/8573
• USGS Historical Topographic Maps (lots of
good city & shoreline info:
http://cida.usgs.gov/hqsp/apex/f?
p=262:1:150662570906122

23.
2012
Seattle
OSM

24.
1856
Seattle
Hand Drawn
Main
First

25.
1878
Seattle
Bancroft
Birds-Eye
1856

26.
1895
Seattle
USGS
1856

27.
1908
Seattle
USGS

28.
1975
Seattle
USGS