building=yes

building=yes [1] is a project started in 2010 to create stable and unique
identifiers and a webpage for each of the 26 million (and counting) buildings in
the OpenStreetMap [2] project.

Each building has an accurate geographic footprint associated with it as well as
a nested list of place IDs (using the Where On Earth / GeoPlanet
gazeteer). Although many of the buildings still have no meaning metadata this is
seen as a valuable opportunity to encourage increased participation and
individual stewardship of one or more buildings.

This paper will discuss the motivation behind the project, it's technical
implementation and shortcomings as well as future directions. It will also
address the increasingly number and role of community-driven bespoke registries
of cultural artifacts and the fact the Internets make it possible for people to
self-organize around a common interest, effectively collapsing the costs usually
associated with production and distribution, and if communities of amateurs
don't feel like they have any avenues to participate in established projects, or
institutions, then they can and will just do it themselves.

[1] http://buildingequalsyes.spum.org/
[2] http://www.openstreetmap.org/