Haïti and the importance of open maps.
2010-02-08 11:30:32 - by
Nicolas Malevé
A bit after the fact, but still very interesting information. How Openstreetmap has been used to help NGO’s work in Haiti after the earthquake. A specific webpage has been set up for the occasion: http://www.openstreetmap.org.ph/
A thorough article by Camille Gévaudan, in ecrans.fr (in French).
Other informations in opensource.com
Quick selection of images:
Map showing the depth of flooding, using OSM road data.
- flood depth
Port au Prince before and After
- Port au Prince, before and after
Topology for the rest of us!
2009-02-28 11:11:21 - by
Nicolas Malevé
On Jill Britton’s website, a wonderful introduction to topology.
«A simple trick illustrates topology: taking off a vest without taking off a coat, since (topological) the vest is outside the coat — in the sense that a paper lying on the bottom of a wastebasket is really outside the basket, not in it, since being in would require removal of a boundary. One puts an arm through one vesthole; pulls the coat through this vesthole until it is hanging on the other arm; then pulls the through that other vesthole, where it is obviously "outside".»
