Citizen volunteers are democratizing the field of online mapping, spreading out to document neighborhoods and streets worldwide.
Average citizens have been contributing data to online maps for years, but they are now taking a more active role - creating and editing underlying maps of streets, rivers, and landscape features, revising locations of buildings and major landmarks, and adding myriad local details. Mapping platforms find many of the same benefits and challenges as collective editing sites like Wikipedia. Ups and downs aside, people who take to the streets with GPS in hand are changing the way mapping companies do business: Google is dropping its corporate map providers and relying on volunteers, who produce more complete maps than the professionals.
Thanks to Rebecca Sanborn Stone
FULL STORY: Online Maps: Everyman Offers New Directions

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
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