Wikimapia
Wikimapia is a collaborative mapping project that aims to describe every location on Earth, combining the interactive features of a detailed map with the versatility of a wiki system.
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Description
Wikimapia is an open-content collaborative mapping project that aims to mark and describe all geographical objects in the world. It combines an interactive web map with a wiki system, allowing users to add information and edit content about any location on the globe. This tool provides a vast amount of detailed geographical and local information that might not be available through other sources.
Wikimapia can solve several problems for researchers, including locating hard-to-find places, understanding the geographical context of an area, and discovering local knowledge about specific locations. For example, an open source researcher studying urban development can use Wikimapia to identify newly developed areas, understand local infrastructure, and gather data on land use without requiring physical travel to the location. The tool is sometimes able to provide more accurate place names and areas than other annotated maps.
Features:
Search: search for locations by name.
Categories: explore amenities on the map by filtering category of amenity (for instance hospital, military, stores/shops etc.).
Language: supports multiple languages.
Measure distance: measure distance between points in feet and metres.
Map Types: Wikimapia Satellite/Map, Bing Hybrid, Bing Map, Bing Satellite, Google Hybrid, Google Map, Google Satellite, OpenStreetMap, Google Terrain, Yahoo Satellite.
Zoom tool: zoom in and out on the map.
The example below shows selecting the bridges category for Amsterdam:
Use Case examples for Open Source Researchers
Locating Hard-to-Find Places: Researchers can use Wikimapia to identify and access detailed information about obscure or difficult-to-locate places that might not be documented in traditional mapping tools.
Geographical Context Understanding: By leveraging the detailed descriptions and user-contributed content in Wikimapia, researchers can gain a deeper understanding of the geographical context of specific areas, including local insights that are often missing from commercial maps.
Urban Development Tracking: For those studying urban development, Wikimapia offers a unique perspective on the evolution of cities and neighborhoods. Researchers can observe changes in land use, expansion of residential areas, and development of infrastructure over time.
Cultural and Historical Research: This platform allows researchers to explore the history and cultural significance of specific locations. User-contributed information provides insights into local landmarks, historical sites, and cultural narratives.
Cost
Level of difficulty
Requirements
Web: any modern web browser.
Account: requires email address.
Limitations
Data Accuracy: Wikimapia's content is user-generated, leading to potential inaccuracies.
Outdated information: Many Wikimapia entries are many years old and are not kept up to date anymore. Information found on Wikipedia does not always correspond with the current situation at a specific location.
Coverage Inconsistency: Some areas, especially in less populated or less accessible regions, may have sparse or no data.
API Rate Limiting: There might be limitations on the number of API requests that can be made in a certain timeframe, impacting extensive data retrieval tasks. The actual rate limits are not clearly documented at this time.
Ethical Considerations
When using Wikimapia, ethical considerations include:
Privacy Concerns: Sharing or mapping sensitive locations may infringe on individuals' or groups' privacy rights. Users should be cautious about adding locations that could compromise privacy.
Misinformation: Given the user-generated nature of the content, there is a risk of spreading misinformation. Contributors should ensure the accuracy of the information they provide. Users needs to verify any information they use from Wikimapia.
Guide
To effectively use Wikimapia, especially for beginners or those looking to refine their skills, the following resources are highly recommended:
Official Wiki
Tutorials and Articles
Geospatial awareness: how to add data to Google Earth & must-have datasets (no date). Available at: https://benjaminstrick.com/geospatial-awareness-how-to-add-data-to-google-earth/ (Accessed: 17 May 2025).
Quick start - Wikimapia (no date). Available at: https://wikimapia.org/docs/Quick_start (Accessed: 17 May 2025).
Seitz, J. (2015) Automating Photo Retrieval for Geolocating - Part 2:Wikimapia, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2015/05/13/automating-photo-retrieval-for-geolocating-part-2-wikimapia/ (Accessed: 17 May 2025).
Sheldon, M. (2022) Meet the Irregular Troops Backing up Russia’s Army in the Kharkiv Region, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/06/17/meet-the-irregular-troops-backing-up-russias-army-in-the-donbas/ (Accessed: 17 May 2025).
Video Tutorials
Wikimapia Quick Start Tutorial.MP4 (2014). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbN36OxmX9A (Accessed: 17 May 2025).
Developer Resources
Getting Started with wikimapia_api — wikimapia_api 0.1.0.dev1 documentation (no date). Available at: https://wikimapia-api-py.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tutorial.html (Accessed: 17 May 2025).
Python Wikimapia API documentation — wikimapia_api 0.1.0.dev1 documentation (no date). Available at: https://wikimapia-api-py.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html (Accessed: 17 May 2025).
Community and Support
Tool provider
Wikimapia Ltd. https://wikimapia.org/
Wikimapia was created by the Russian software company Wikimapia Ltd., founded in 2006 by Alexander Koryakin and Eugen Saveliev.
Advertising Trackers
Bellingcat Volunteer Team/ Unassigned
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