This time, I tried to do something new and took to improving road network and buildings in two areas that are probably very different from each other in terms of the dynamics or the urban set up. But both had one thing in common, clusters. The settlements were clustered and packed and hence, it proved to be a challenging task editing both Ranchi and Dehradun

Road tracing in Ranchi was tough mainly because of its congested built up.

From the satellite data, it was pretty clear that the capital city of Jharkand is clustered. The settlements were packed. But there was also a lot of open space. It was easy to make out highways and tracks but difficult to decipher where the residential roads were due to the mass build up of residential settlements.

Things that I noticed

• The settlements are so clustered that it was difficult to make out where the roads are.
• Some of the streets had already been marked though none of them had the right tags. Some of the streets had been marked wrongly.
• Some of the roads were placed where there were no roads.
• Some of the roads had been joined with the adjacent land-use or buildings.

Before and After

Building tracing in Dehradun was slightly more challenging than road tracing.

This task demanded keen eye for detail and how much of it one is able to process. One issue that one might face when tracing buildings in India is irregularity or dissimilarity. The settlements are so diversely built that it becomes hard to be consistent while tracing the shape of the building as the settlement built up dynamics change every now and then.

Things that I noticed

• Satellite imagery was not so clear in some parts which made it hard to detail.
• The buildings were so close to each other that it became a little difficult to trace the outlines.
• Buildings which have different shapes takes longer time to edit.

Before and After

Road tracing and building tracing broadened my perspective about mapping and gave me a fantastic chance to try and learn how the cities are built. It is very interesting to study the dynamics of urbanisation and how cities are planned.

But most importantly, it provided me with an in depth analysis of how important data is and how crucial it is to add right data. It’s not the quantity but the quality. It is not about a race of how many roads you have added or how many buildings you have traced. What is more important is the fact that there are so many people out there who are dependent on the data you are updating and it is a responsibility to make sure that we don’t mess it up. A node unconnected or a building connected to the road can make a huge difference and it is scary to think the amount of repercussions it can cause.

Well, what more can I say. Happy Mapping :D :D