Name: Making maps to fight disaster, build economies
Uploaded: 2010-01-13T09:11:00Z
Duration: 2 min 37 s
Description: As of 2005, only 15 percent of the world was mapped. This slows the delivery of aid after a disaster -- and hides the economic potential of unused lands and unknown roads. In this short talk, Google's Lalitesh Katragadda demos Map Maker, a group map-making tool that people around the globe are using to map their world.

Lalitesh Katragadda: Making maps to fight disaster, build economies

Making maps to fight disaster, build economies

As of 2005, only 15 percent of the world was mapped. This slows the delivery of aid after a disaster -- and hides the economic potential of unused lands and unknown roads. In this short talk, Google's Lalitesh Katragadda demos Map Maker, a group map-making tool that people around the globe are using to map their world.

Only 15 percent of the world was mapped in detail by 2005, making disaster response and economic development far harder. When Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar, responders struggled to deliver help because maps of roads and hospitals simply did not exist. A new collaborative tool empowered thousands of volunteers to rapidly chart crucial features, transforming lives and economies. Crowdsourced mapping now reaches even the most overlooked places, revealing hidden potential and saving lives.