USC Dornsife undergrads will complete against UCLA spatial students in the first annual Battle of Maps. The stage is set for Wednesday, November 15th (international GIS Day), from 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It's perfect SSI precursor for the Big Game that Saturday!
USC Spatial Science Institute students will gather in the Polymathic Innovation Lab (3rd floor of Leavey Library) to compete in against UCLA students in real time. The challenge: determine which school can map the most of an area of Puerto Rico designated by the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team before time is up.
This friendly competition has real world implications as the area being mapped is a priority region for humanitarian relief. The mapping outcome of this competition will be utilized to help affected areas of Puerto Rico.
Want to get involved? Details at the Facebook event >>
WHAT IS HUMANITARIAN OPENSTREET MAP?
Collaborative Maps for Humanitarian Aid: Reaching those in need through maps
When major disaster strikes anywhere in the world, HOT rallies a huge network of volunteers to create, online, the maps that enable responders to reach those in need. Putting the world's vulnerable people and places on the map Many of the poorest and most vulnerable places in the world do not exist on any map. To date over 3,500 Missing Maps volunteers have collectively made 12 million edits to OpenStreetMap and put 7.5 million people on the map.
THE WORLD CELEBRATES GIS DAY
GIS Day provides an international forum for users of geographic information systems (GIS) technology to demonstrate real-world applications that are making a difference in our society. The first formal GIS Day took place in 1999. Esri president and co-founder Jack Dangermond credits Ralph Nader with being the person who inspired the creation of GIS Day. He considered GIS Day a good initiative for people to learn about geography and the uses of GIS. He wanted GIS Day to be a grassroots effort and open to everyone to participate.
Read more about GIS Day >>
