Editors Community Newsletter

January 2019

Hello Editors!

Welcome to the first Editors Community Newsletter of 2019. Our mission is to share the great things you're doing so others can be inspired. Have stories to share? Reach out to your community leaders today!

Brazil: Mapping for Democracy!

This past October, Brazil elected a new president, and our community helped citizens perform their civil duty by mapping 1,000 polling places. The elections were conducted in two cycles: October 7 and October 28, and our community finished mapping all relevant polling places by October 25, just in time for the definitive cycle. Full details, including the scoreboard, are available in this spreadsheet.

New Photo Viewer Tool for Places

JustinS83 took Places handling to the next level with the help of SebiSeba from France. They created a tool for moderating Places pictures in bulk, instead of one by one. Next steps: allow approving/rejecting photo PURs. Kudos for the effort! Want to use the script? You can find more information here.

Hungary: Saving Lost Dogs

The Hungarian community decided to help dog owners whose canine companions are affected by New Year's Eve celebrations. Many dogs are so scared by fireworks launched during the festivities that they can run away. As a solution, the community mapped all the Vigyelhaza foundation locations where dog owners can have microchips attached to their dogs. If a dog runs away, it can be identified using a chip reader, and reunited with its owner for a truly happy New Year.

UK: Mapping in Times of Crisis

WIRED UK published an article about Waze, sharing how the Waze community in London stepped up after a terrorist attack last year to ensure that drivers were routed around cordoned-off areas. The article also looked at the everyday collaboration with Transport for London — the government body that manages taxis, London buses, Underground and Overground — for the benefit of all citizens.

France: Mapping & Golfing in the Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup, one of golf’s most important competitions, was held in Paris in September. It involved 50,000 fans each day, landlocked between 230,000 citizens and 26,000 employees in an industrial area, for six days. The Ryder Cup signed on with Waze as a Global Event Partner (GEP), and worked closely with the community to prepare for the event. Four map editors played a huge part in the event, managing road closures and mapping all parking lots and road restrictions.

Portugal: Helping Pro Drivers

The community in Portugal collaborated with the city of Lisbon to help professional drivers deliver goods. Delivery drivers are required to park in specific parking places, and to help them, the community went on a mapping rampage, adding more than 800 parking places. Wazers just need to search “CD LX,” and the relevant spots will pop up. Next task: mapping parking all over the country.

Italian Editors Make Headlines

Esquire magazine ran a story about our Italian editor community. Our favorite quote: “I expected a band of guys a bit hippy and a bit hipster, but the map editors are very normal people, and not too much kids.” You can read the full article (with the help of Google Translate if you’re not Italian) here.

We'd love to hear your feedback and — even better — more stories! Reach out to your community leaders and share your community's achievements.

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