Interactive geographic region definitions

Question

Background

An organization has regions within a province, but has no list of coordinates that define region boundaries. I would like to draw custom polygon areas on a map using a web-based and user-friendly interface (such as Google My Maps or Scribble Maps). The regions are for data aggregation.

Technical

Maptitude and OpenGeo are being considered for the final GIS application. The database will likely be PostgreSQL running PostGIS.

Question

What open-source tool would you use to define the coordinates by drawing polygons on an interactive map? That is:

Browser -> Map -> Polygons (shared boundaries) -> Export

If the export step (to PostGIS) was performed automatically, so much the better.

A cross-browser solution (IE8, FF, Chrome, Safari) with a working demo would be most helpful.

Related Links

• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2325670/draw-polygon-using-mouse-on-google-maps

Thank you!

Answer 1

You can use OpenLayers to provide your user with a simple editting toolbar. Look here for a working example.

Look here for a tutorial with a bit more explanation on the hook up between your server and OL. Alternatively, if you want an all-in environment you could consider GeoDjango. There isn't space to go into it here but there are a lot of good tutorials on the GeoDjango website that will show you how to have an interactive, editable environment.