Latinoware 2012 will have mapfest put together by participants
The Recôncavo Baiano is a region oh high flow of tourists, formed by small cities that ended up forgotten by Google Maps. It was faced with this reality that Wille Marcel (Picture on the right) decided to start project MapaRec – Collaborative Mapping of the Reconcavo (Mapeamento Colaborativo do Recôncavo) – with the intention of mapping out the region with information, pictures, videos and sounds.
The Project is being carried out by a team of students, technicians and professors from the Federal University of the Recôncavo da Bahia (UFRB). “After learning about the OpenStreetMap, I had the idea of mapping out the region. In Google Maps, even our roads are not there”, he stressed.
During Latinoware 2012, in addition to giving a mini-course together with Djavan Fagundes – who is also carrying out an interesting project in the area – on the OpenStreetMap tool, he will also coordinate the creation of the event’s “mapfest”, to be executed by the participants. “We will map out the area of ITAIPU Binacional using a number of different techniques. We will use GPS devices to map out routes and paths, picture cameras to record points of interest as well as notes on printed maps. We will also use satellite imaging”, he explained.
The Project has already mapped out the better part of the region of the Recôncavo Baiano.
In order to carry out the work, the idea is to have participants circulating in the area looking for elements that can be mapped, like buildings, streets, squares, parks, washrooms, drinking fountains and other things of the type. Finally, the group returns to the computer lab to add the information on to the OpenStreetMap. “Anyone interested can participate, even if they have no experience on this topic”.
“Butecar is serious”
Under the same topic of geoprocessing, the couple Djavan Fagundes and Liliane Paixão undertake the “Butequeiro” Project, a blog that was born from the idea of sharing tips about restaurants, bakeries, night life and anything related to cuisine and fun. In addition, the couple contributes to the volunteer mapping of the establishments visited in the course of the OpenStreetMap project.
