In an effort to position Atlanta as the most digitally mapped city in the US, over 200 volunteer organizers carried out a large-scale, mapping exercise in the city two weekends ago. The "mapathon" was organized by citizens, professors, geo-professionals etc and OpenStreetMap (OSM), an organization that promotes "the most accurate" mapping through open source mapping - allowing the public to contribute and access maps and geo-data free of charge. Basically Wikipedia and Google Maps had a beautiful love child.
The founder of OSM, Steve Coast, founded the organization to address what he saw as a lack of community and user contribution, as well as restrictive licensing that prevents public access to important and useful data.
The Atlanta Mapathon was apparently a huge success and will be followed up with monthly mini-mapping parties!
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