Advantage West Midlands Using OpenStreetMap

Advantage West Midlands Using OpenStreetMap

One of the first commercial enterprises to fully take on 'crowdsourced' maps
A huge boost to OpenStreetMap



Advantage West Midlands is the regional development agency (RDA) for the West Midlands. We are one of nine RDAs in England established to transform the English regions through sustainable economic development.

AWMist (A Web Map-based Information Search Tool)
AWMist has data about ICT and electronics businesses, about public sector supporting projects and services, about universities and their research groups, and about private sector professional services and training organisations from the West Midlands.

The purpose of AWMist is to encourage and foster collaboration between businesses, universities, local, regional, national and transnational agencies and organisations by greatly increasing the speed and ease by which organisations can easily identify potential partners and business opportunities.

West Midlands chose a solution based on OSM for its more open commercial terms and lack of technical restrictions when compared to rival map providers. The fact that the data for the West Midlands was collected and maintained locally was also a factor in the decision.

quote:
"One more example Open Source, GIS and Open Street Map in particular making a difference in this highly competitive world."

source:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/user/brianboru/diary/8617#comments

'At-Risk' Post Office Outlets Mapped

last update:
Yorkshire area
http://mapperz.googlepages.com/yorkshire_post_offices
_at_risk_name.html

Outreach Post Offices Planned (replacing these Post Offices)
http://mapperz.googlepages.com/outreach_post_offices_named.html

data from...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/02_10_07_po_total.pdf
so if that is wrong so will the location on the map

update:
Midlands is Mapped now.
http://mapperz.googlepages.com/Midlands_post_offices
_at_risk_named.html
*Starkholmes, 133 Starkholmes, Road Matlock E4 5JA was not mapped due to an incorrect postcode.

Kent 'at-risk' Post Office Outlets Mapped

"The Post Office has announced the first 180 branches earmarked for closure under its plan to shut 2,500 by the end of next year."

based on the pdf on the BBC website - Mapperz mapped them. In 15 minutes
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7023244.stm


How was this done so quick?

• Copy and pasted addresses and postcodes from the PDF into notepad, save as .txt

• Rename as .csv

• Open this in OpenOffice (or Word) as comma delimited.

• Adjusted the Postcodes into one column

• Copy and pasted to a batch geocoder

• Appended the lat/lng to the Post Office 'at risk' in OpenOffice

• Saved as .xls

• Uploaded to google spreadsheets (view the spreadsheet)

• Published this as 'public' (will not work if your don't)

• Used the google maps/spreadsheet wizard
  

*to create the link between the spreadsheet and google map via the Public Spreadsheet Key.
**the wizard does do a lot of things, icons sizes, colours, viewport, map extent based on data.
The Mapperz modified a little html to make the map centre on Europe before zooming to the Kent era.

View the 'At Risk' Post Offices in Kent Map

Mismatched postcodes with the geocoder
Kent had one Postcode that was incorrect replacing the 'I' for a '1' worked.
TN13 IHZ should be TN13 1HZ