Announcing OpenEcoMaps to geeks

I’m happy to announce that OpenEcoMaps is now stable and ready for use, albeit with a few wrinkles that I hope some more able hackers can help me iron out. OpenEcoMaps takes data about “eco” (green / sustainable) features stored in OpenStreetMap and turns them into KML files that are shown as overlays on the map, making it easy for people to find out where they can get a vegetarian meal, forage some wild fruit, spot a solar panel, recycle a can, pick up a car club car, or spend some money in a cinema.

You can use these KML files on your own map, or in Google Earth; you can embed the OpenEcoMaps map in your own web site; or you can just browse around the site.

At the moment there are packs of overlays for London and Exeter, but I can quite easily add other local areas with any combination of the features. I can also add in new features, they’re just little chunks of Python code to specify how OpenStreetMap tags are interpreted. Leave a comment if you want something in your area – I need a bounding box, the title for the area, and a set of layers specifying the title for the layer and the features you want in it.

I’ve been waiting for a reliable XAPI service before launching, and thanks to Mapquest I’m now able to say – use and abuse it!

Most of the data was added by various OpenStreetMap mappers over the years, it’s really fun to pull out something you think is very niche and find how much we already have in the database. But I’ve also been sourcing open data from organisations like the GLA and Southwark Council, particularly for renewable energy installations and food growing spaces. What’s interesting is finding out just how little these public bodies actually know.

Over the summer I’ve got a few events with food organisations where I’m going to present the project following my work with the council, the GLA and Sustain. That will be a nice opportunity to see how usable the average citizen finds the web site, and how useful it really is to them.

There are still a few features I think it needs before announcing it to networks of local green groups like Transition Towns. So if you’re a geek interested in this project please have a look at the TODO list on github and get stuck in.