OpenStreetMap in Liverpool, Nova Scotia

So I recently rediscovered the wonders of OpenStreetMap. It's a huge collaborative map making project that anyone can contribute to. It's like the Wikipedia of map making. Users can use their GPS units to track their traveling logs and upload that information so it appears on the map. So you can take a walk in one of your favorite walking trails, use your GPS to track the path that you're walking, upload that and there you go, it's now available to the entire world.

But why, you ask, should I care about this when Google and Microsoft provide awesome maps with satellite imagery? Well first off, I would reply in my most condescending of tones, OpenStreetMap allows you, yes YOU, to fix map errors. See a misplaced street or a misnamed river? You can easily fix it. With the contributions of thousands of editors, one can get the most up-to-date, comprehensive and accurate map as possible.

Second, all this wonderful data that is being collected is published under an open content license, with the intention of promoting free use and re-distribution of the data (both commercial and non-commercial). Meaning that this data is free. Free to download, free to mess around with, free to use as you see fit. You can't do that with the data Google or Microsoft provide.

Finally, and this should of been my first point, it's all user made. You can add as much detail to your neighborhood as you want. From businesses, paths, parks, back-roads, government buildings, airports, all sorts of things. It's up to you what you want to add. You don't even need a GPS unit (but it helps!).

I've already started adding some things to the Summerville Center/Liverpool area. However, I do need to get a GPS unit to really start mapping out roads and neighborhoods. I've always been a sucker for collaborative projects and I hope to see this area get the attention it deserves. 

Take a look at Liverpool on OpenStreetMap