New member in Dubai!

Hello, all! I just found out about openstreetmap.org yesterday, and I can see a huge potential for its use in Dubai. The construction happens so rapidly here that any map you actually purchase becomes obsolete in around 3 months. The problem usually is that you see a discrepancy in what the map shows and what’s actually there, so you can say “Oh, I hope they come out with a new map…” OR you can log in to open street map and change it yourself. Fantastic! :slight_smile:

Tonight I purchased a bluetooth GPS device and I’ve been mapping my neighborhood for starters. I’m finding this project to be very fun to contribute to, especially since I get great data when I actually leave the house! The GPS wasn’t expensive and it’s actually really really accurate.

Are there any areas in Dubai anyone would like to see traces of, or any type of amenity? Bus stops are definitely on my list, but is there anything else? Requests please!

That’s all for now. Happy mapping, all!

Spent the last few hours figuring out PathAway for Windows Mobile… it isn’t without its problems, but it’s a seriously complex piece of software. Managed to export openstreetmap images and calibrate them. :slight_smile: Good times! Going Geocaching tomorrow to blow off some steam and have a good time in a HUGE park I haven’t had the “time” to visit in the 5 years I’ve been here.

p.s.

Thanks to everyone who’s created the Dubai maps via satellite images. It’s off the shoulders of giants that I fill in the missing pieces…

Welcome, nice to see you are so enthusiastic! Be careful not to fall victim to OSMCMD (OpenStreetMap Compulsive Mapping Disorder) :smiley:

Regarding mapping, just map the things you like to map. I find that ‘rule’ important to keep interested in the project :slight_smile: But I guess that gathering streetnames for the streets who were mapped through satellite imagery is very valuable…

Gathering street names is an excellent idea, however, Dubai is in the middle of a numbering/naming changeover at the moment. We don’t even have postal addresses, which is why everyone here has a PO box. No mail delivery to your home. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the encouragement. It’s hard to describe why merely mapping the street shapes is so important here. Check out Al Barsha 1 after Tuesday if you want to see what I mean. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’ve been in this neighborhood for 5 years, but due to construction, everything is always new. Crazy stuff you find when you can trace where you are. Openstreetmap is a good place to store the changes for my personal mapping, just to help myself get around, and as a side effect, everyone gets the map. :stuck_out_tongue:

Which one? 1, 2, 3 or South? :stuck_out_tongue:

http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=25.1028&lon=55.2076&zoom=14&layers=B000FTF

1 ! The changes haven’t updated yet in Mapnik. :stuck_out_tongue: It’d be good to see if I did everything correctly, since I am still a newb pretty much.

Hi msghmr: If your taking requests then a complete map of ‘the world’ would be great to see! in any form!..maybe a kayak is needed? More realistically, the area around Burj Dubai will probably be highly valued, as I imagine this will attract huge amounts of people. (I’m not sure of it’s location, so it may already be a mapped?)

Mapping the coastlines of the world on Kayak has been my secret mission all along… :slight_smile: Kayaking quietly ~50cm from the coastline has it’s advantages in the summer.

Ben: Actually, Burj Dubai is a prime candidate for mapping. That entire area is new. Will do this next :slight_smile:

hi, i’ve recently attended an OpenStreetMap event in Beirut. I am based in Dubai and look forward to contributing to this vibe. I might have made a mistake of deleting a street while adding info today, that was in the jumeira area. apologies, a new learner’s mistake.
have started a facebook OpenStreetMap UAE group. i look forward to meeting at some point to share some of our ways of approaching the map and to consolidate our efforts.
working on the burj dubai area too…

Hi

Am based in Sharjah . Looking forward to meet openstreet mappers based in dubai/sharjah

regards

Mathew