User:MapSpot/2022 OSMUS Position Statement
My name is Dante Volpe. I am a graduate student in Transportation Engineering and Engineering Management, hailing from New York City. I love all things map-related, and OpenStreetMap's platform and community has given me the tools I need to channel this passion into a well-organized network that everyone can benefit from. I am running for the OSM US board of directors because I believe my personal and professional background can contribute a unique perspective towards interaction and engagement with the US mapping community, mediating conflicts productively, and proactively seeking out new ways to improve user experience for US mappers with helpful guides and software improvements.
My History with OpenStreetMap
My history with digital mapping dates back to 2014, where I had served as a local guide in improving Google Maps using Google Map Maker up until the program's discontinuation in 2017. I have always appreciated the intrinsic visual beauty of maps, particularly those of parks, which are typically smaller in scope, high in detail, and pay strong attention to the pedestrian. I admired how every small amenity and terrain feature was visualized. Rather than just showing where to walk, it practically showed why to walk. It had made me more aware of the extensive sidewalk networks and streetside utilities in my city, leaving me wondering, "Why aren't entire cities mapped with as much care as parks are?" It was then that I discovered OpenStreetMap as a powerful platform to make a park out of my world. I have completed several personal mapping projects in numerous cities and towns across the US, looking to highlight pedestrian-friendly routes, which are typically harder to come by in the States. These endeavors have taken many forms over my last three years with OSM, including wheelchair-centric mapping of curbs and ramps. Most notably, I've grown to specialize in mapping parking lots for large shopping centers, as safely walking through or past these behemoths poses a unique set of challenges that digital maps rarely depict.
As my projects grew in scale, I began to expand my horizons socially via the OpenStreetMap World Discord server, OSM subreddit, and OSM US Slack channel. Over the past year, I have been participating in large-scale collaborative "macromapping" projects alongside my local work. Most notably, I have played a key role in the global River Modernization Project, which aims to resolve an over ten-year-long conflict in river area tagging systems. Although I changed very few tags directly, my community outreach initiatives and progress data visualizations (featured in weeklyOSM's blog and Brain Sperlongano's Mappy Hour presentation) proved highly effective in expediting what would otherwise be a very slow and repetitive endeavor.
At this time, I believe the next stage in my work's development warrants further collaboration from a position of leadership. I have received tremendous help and support from other long-time mappers to reach this point of competence (and confidence), and sharing my unique brand of insight, detail orientation, and steadfast determination with the US mapping community is the best way to pay it forward.
My Academic and Professional Background
Over the past four years, I have garnered significant professional trade and leadership experience as it pertains to my passionate mapping hobby. Throughout five diverse internships in traffic engineering and planning, I have participated first-hand in the technical, legal, and social facets of getting an infrastructural proposal off the ground, whether it means surveying a site or surveying citizens. So much of a project's progress rests in strong communication, between different departments, between engineers, and especially between my firm and our client. Aside from my love of maps, I was drawn to this field of engineering because of how reliant it is on human interaction, as each infrastructure project expands far beyond the boundaries of a single private lot, impacting the general public.
Many companies tend to rely heavily on proprietary maps for their data, often simply from unawareness of any alternative. I always made it my mission to incorporate public open-source data from OSM and Mapillary to help fill in gaps left by the big tech firms, such as using OSM as an attributed basemap for visually cataloging green infrastructure projects in Hunts Point (Bronx), NY. I am always motivated to find and apply the best technical resources for the task at hand.
Even outside the workplace, I've taken great pride in applying leadership through student organizations such as Student Government and my university's Catholic student association chapter, of which I served as president. These years were formative in my understanding of what it means to manage an organization in a fiscally responsible manner, delegate tasks intelligently, and most importantly set a direction to lead and represent your group with a strong identity.
My Goals and Roles for OSM US
A fundamental priority in my potential term in the OSM US board of directors is continuity. As previous board members step down from their position, it is important to be mindful of any unique responsibilities and tasks they have adapted into their role. I would advocate for thorough transition documents to aid in preserving the legacy of former directors, so that valuable workflow knowledge isn't lost to history, and new members have additional points of reference when defining their role.
Another key area of focus for me is community engagement. With a strong background in data analysis, I would aim to conduct national studies on emerging mapping habits and trends among the community. This could include analysis of specific tag prevalence in the US relative to other nations, identifying and addressing common inconsistencies and grey areas in mapping habits, and identifying highly active lone-wolf mappers which would benefit greatly from community outreach, dialogue, and integration, as this not only could strengthen their motivation to continue mapping long term but also improve the quality of their contributions, as seeking out second opinions in mapping practices undoubtedly goes a long way toward error correction.
Using data and feedback organically collected from the US mapping community, I would use a position of leadership on the OSM US board to lobby for user-interface improvements that meet the community's demand on their behalf. A strong, frequent, and communicative relationship with developers behind iD, JOSM, Carto, etc. will show the US community that they aren't just providing for OSM, but OSM is providing for them.