High resolution satellite imagery, that is… zing! While the news from the Middle East may be depressing as hell, it has provided a stimulus for Open Street Map to improve their spatial data for Gaza. Jon has done a comparison of existing online maps, showing Google Maps to the initial winner – although OSM are working hard to update their offering, and as Jon says “the flexibility OSM has shows it’s value as a quickly adaptable humanitarian tool.”
Following OSM’s initial request for support, Alertnet ran the story yesterday, and updates will be posted on Mikel’s blog. This is worthwhile stuff – as well as being potentially useful for people working in that area, it’s a long-term contribution towards the spatial data infrastructure of the middle east. If you have any knowledge of Gaza, then you can contribute via the Wiki – and if you’ve got any of that high-resolution sat imagery, I’m sure they’d love to hear from you…