Chikpete Mapping Party

The Chikpete Mapping Party is an attempt to map the complexity of the Chikpete market on OpenStreetMap, through an exploratory mapping and walking tour that is self driven. The Chikpete Plazas serve as shopping complexes, but also contain public corridors that connect adjacent streets. Further, the presence of several shops in the same floor creates a geography that contains a lot of data concentrated in a small area. We hope that the several new mappers who turn up at the party go back with a renewed understanding of OpenStreetMap and Chikpete.

• Date: Sunday 21st April 2019
• Time: 3 pm to 5.30 p.m
• Place: We will start at the Chikpete metro station

I want to join!

Yay, we'd love to have you. Please join the WhatsApp group and read this wiki page carefully. There are specific things you must do before you come to the event, and the instructions for the same are outlined on this page.

Where should I come?

First spot on the itinerary to be decided. For now, get to the Chikpete metro station, and get out at the BVK Iyengar road exit. From there take a right for a short walk to the Chikpete circle. The road to the right of the circle is Old Taluk Cutchery road (a broad market street by Chikpete standards) with lots of big shops on your right. Once you cross this street, all the successive streets on your right are typical Chikpete streets - narrow with heavy foot traffic. More information below on where we are mapping:

Where are we mapping?

The areas we will focus on are the streets between Chikpete circle and Hospital Road. These streets are all extremely narrow and heavy on foot traffic giving you quite a bit of leeway in staring up at buildings, shopping or hanging out, without the fear of being run over. Here are some of the lanes you can map - since the data is very poor on OSM:

• AM Lane

• DK lane

• VS Lane

• Rangaswamy Temple Road

• Huriupete Road

• Mallikarjuna Temple Street

Feel free to also pick any other street between Chikpete circle and Hospital Road if you want to go exploring! If there's a particular street you want to claim in the mapping party, text here on the group to let us know, and we will pick other streets. : )

What kind of data will we be adding?

We will be adding points of interest - restaurants, shops, buildings, bus stands, eateries, benches etc. More types on the Maps.me app.

I have never mapped before - what should I do to prep?

In order to simplify things, here's all you need to do before tomorrow:

• Create an OpenStreetMap account on https://www.osm.org. This enables you to upload data that you collect really easily, and brings you into a community of hobby mappers. There's no way to add data anonymously, unfortunately.

• Download the https://maps.me/ app from the Play Store (~75 MB). Once you open the app, and allow it access to your location, it will ask you if you want to download all of the data for Karnataka (~31 MB) - say yes, since this will allow you to start with a base layer of data. This app allows you to add points of interest in a very intuitive manner. Open the app, and try to figure out where the "Add a place to the map" option is. Try to experiment a little bit with adding your house or the place you're at, to the map using Maps.Me. This is the only option we will be using throughout the mapping party - once you select a location to map (usually your current location), it will ask you to provide some details about the location you just selected - all through an intuitive interface.

Do I need internet while walking/mapping?

You DO NOT need internet while walking - you can keep collecting data and then sync all the data once you're back near a wifi or internet source. Please download the Maps.Me app and sign up on OpenStreetMap prior to the mapping party. Make sure to familiarise yourself with the Maps.Me app, and add at least one location to the map using the interface before the mapping party.

What else should I be doing?

• Mapping is always more fun when there's more than one person involved! Find a partner from the group that you would like to walk with. If you want me to find you a partner, message me!

• Carry at least one litre of water, and wear comfortable walking shoes. The narrow bylanes are heavily shaded since there are tall buildings on both sides, so the walk will not be too sunny.

• Make sure that your phone has full battery back up since you will need to have location on.

• There are tons of small eateries and shopping places. Have fun exploring the area, and bring back stories to our post mapping eating.

Can I help you with something?

• I would love ideas for where we should meet before we split up? Does someone know of eateries/juice joints we can meet at before we split up? Suggestions also welcome for the eatery we will end the walk at.

• If you all feel comfortable doing so - share your live location on the Whatsapp group as you start mapping. This way we can all bump into each other if we want to, as we map.