MESH (Mapping Edinburgh’s Social History) is a path-breaking AHRC funded project that uses data based on addresses and areas to represent historical information. It provides a spatial dimension that enriches and enhances an understanding of the past.
This particular talk shows:
- why the MESH team chose OpenStreetMap (OSM) among different cartographic solutions,
- how the team improved OSM in Edinburgh using historical maps (out-of-copyright town plans and Ordnance Survey maps provided by the National Library of Scotland) and intensive ground surveying,
- the quality of the mapping including a comparison with current Ordnance Survey data,
- how the team and historians start to use it (tools, results),
- how the work presented here can be reused by everyone including academics, public institutions and private companies.
More info about the project: http://www.mesh.ed.ac.uk/