Date: 2024-09-25
Accepted
Representing air pollution and other environment characteristics visually on a map is an important part of the UX in airTEXT. The original airTEXT implementation and the sister project for York both used Google Maps.
However, using this commercial product with its fundamental data privacy uncertainties is not necessary and should be challenged.
We believe that excellent mapping and geospatial services can be built using open source tools. These include:
- Leaflet: a javascript library for presenting maps in HTML
- OpenStreetMap: a public domain map, the base information
We will develop the service using these open source tools in the belief that:
- any usage fees will lower and more transparent
- tracking will be minimised and our users' personal information will be safer
If we are unable to deliver the user benefits which are required, together with a top-quality user-experience, then we will review this approach.