Mapillary at Maptime events

Maptime is a fantastic platform to introduce people to maps and the tools that make them more accurate and detailed. Mapillary is one of those tools and the best way capture street-level images of an area. All images and data obtained from them are available for contributing to OpenStreetMap under the OpenStreetMap Contributor terms.

These resources have been designed so that you can introduce Mapillary at your local Maptime chapter through hands-on mapping and photo walks. Have a think about which option works best for your first introduction to Mapillary. You’re welcome to do both on the same day. Once you’ve decided, take a look at the steps and resources below that will help you run your event smoothly.

1. Two activities to introduce Mapillary

2. Steps to Mapillary & Maptime

3. Introduce Mapillary to your Maptime

Two activities to introduce Mapillary

If you’re thinking about organizing a meetup for your local Maptime, there are two main ways you can incorporate Mapillary: photo walks and mapathons.

We’ve found that most organizers like to incorporate a photo walk so that participants can see first-hand how they can contribute to Mapillary. A photo walk is where participants head out together with the aim of capturing a predetermined part of the city or town. They work best when clear objectives have been set with participants aware that they are capturing images to identify and then map objects and characteristics of the area. Take a look at our photo walk instructions and hand out the printout version to participants on the day.

Capturing images if half the fun. Once you have images of an area, the next step is to make use of them for OpenStreetMap editing, with mapathons being a fun way to do that together with a group of people. You can use images that you’ve captured yourself in your area or images on the other side of the world taken by anyone. We’ve put together this slide deck to help you introduce editing with Mapillary images. Make sure to check out our instructional videos for our iD and JOSM integrations and our best tips for Mapillary mapathons.

It’s perfectly fine to dedicate your event to one of these two aspects or even do both if time permits. If you decide to do both a photo walk and mapping with images, keep in mind that the upload process may take a while. In these instances, you may wish to introduce mapping with images by focusing on other areas with existing coverage.

Steps to a Mapillary Maptime event

1. Work out how you want to introduce Mapillary to your chapter and considerations such as
• Decent internet connection
• Familiarity of members with OpenStreetMap
• Existing coverage in your area
2. Announce the event to your local Maptime chapter. Feel free to copy and paste the description below while adding information on your local Maptime chapter.
• Make sure everyone downloads the app and creates an account before attending so that they are ready to go on the day
• Print field papers and create routes that each group can take if photo mapping
• Focus on particular objects and characteristics that are useful for your area, such as bike lanes and building heights
• Contact us if you’d like help promoting the event
3. Maptime!
• Gather any feedback from participants and let us know how the event went 

On the day

When the day arrives, you’ll want a good slide deck that steps everyone through Maptime and then editing in OpenStreetMap. There are also fantastic interactive tools that have been developed. Our tips:

• We recommend introducing Maptime first if it’s a new audience. You can tie in Mapillary and OpenStreetMap to draw a link between why maps and the data we are collecting is so useful. Feel free to use our slides and edit them at will.
• We’ve created tutorial videos for both iD editor and JOSM as you will see in the slides. These can be useful to play in the background while people map or for attendees to use as a reference when needed.
• LearnOSM is a brilliant resource with guides for iD and JOSM. Print out PDF versions of the guide or save some trees and send attendees a copy.
• Once everyone has created an account, iD gives a good introductory walk through upon signing in.

Introduce Mapillary to your Maptime

Here is some information you can share with your local Maptime chapter when holding a Mapillary photo walk (edit according to your needs).

Join us for a walk with Mapillary!

Mapillary is a passionate community of people who want to make the world accessible to everyone by creating a photo representation of the world. Anyone can join the community and collect street-level images by using readily available devices like smartphones and action cameras.

By connecting images across time and contributors, you can create an immersive street-level view for people to virtually explore the world. It’s about empowering you to decide which streets, roads and hidden paths should be mapped, and when.

All images are available to improve OpenStreetMap. Best of all, they are integrated into iD and JOSM so that you can see the reality on the ground while editing. A great and fun way to collect local street-level images is to do a photo walk together at a Maptime meetup.

What we will do:

16:30 Mapillary intro

17:00 Make groups and go outside!

18:00 Upload and edit

What you should bring:

Bring your smartphone and install the Mapillary app (iOS or Android) before the meetup. If you have an action camera or a 360° camera, bring them along as they’re also great for capturing street-level images.

Let's improve the map with street-level images, together!

About your Maptime chapter

Maptime is, rather literally, time for mapmaking. Our mission is to open the doors of cartographic possibility to anyone interested by creating a time and space for collaborative learning, exploration, and map creation using mapping tools and technologies.

This open learning environment for all levels and degrees of knowledge offers intentional support for the beginner. Maptime is simultaneously flexible and structured: creating space for workshops, ongoing projects with a shared goal, and independent/collaborative work time.

The inspiration for Maptime comes from both hack nights and knitting circles. Both are models of spaces for people to create and learn together. Our goal is to provide this space with an open heart and without pretension. You can bring your own projects to work on, just hang out and socialize, or ask questions. Some people are experts, and some people are just getting started, but all of us are learning. So, why not do it together?

For more information about Maptime visit maptime.io.