Search the map for Open Spaces and Projects

General
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I am interested in finding a way to conduct the search for defined open spaces and projects in map view instead of just using the search field. I often browse observations by a defined area that isn’t easy to conduct with a simple square or circle selection. Defining open spaces and projects is not only a bit complicated, I wouldn’t want to duplicate someone else’s efforts. Does this method exist? A way to view the map to see where existing public projects and open spaces are instead of using keyword searches? TIA

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if you can conceptualize your search as a search for places that encompass a particular point, i think the most reliable way to do this in most cases is to find (or create a temporary dummy observation) at a point that should be encompassed by potential places of interest, and then look at the (geographic) “Details” in the website’s observation detail page to find a list of Encompassing Places.

for example:

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there is also the “Places of Interest” feature in the web version of the Explore screen, but because it’s not operating on a single point, it’s harder to control exactly which area you want to search:

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finally, i don’t think there’s a way to search for projects on a map, but you can sort of do a search akin to the “places of interest” search via the API (although projects aren’t always consistently and neatly defined geographically like places would be). for example: https://jumear.github.io/stirfry/iNatAPIv1_projects?lat=29.76994&lng=-95.42941&radius=1000&per_page=50

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ok, I have never noticed the encompassing places/community curated before. So whether that user was a member of those projects or not, it shows what community project/spaces that particular species was eligible for.

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the encompassing places are divided into 2 types:

  • standard places that were created by iNat staff: continents, countries, states, counties (and their equivalents), as well as certain other kinds of places like national parks in the USA and some USA towns, too.
  • community-created places (everything else).

you have to make a distinction between the concept of places and projects, as they are not the same thing. places in iNat define a particular geographic area. projects attempt to group together observations in a logical way. you can define a project to collect observations based on a particular place, but you don’t need to define a project that way, and the configurations you make on a project associated with a particular place apply only to the project (and the observations in the place), not to the place.

whether a user was a member of a project, generally, the encompassing places summary will show what places a particular observation falls within. the main caveat here is related to observations with obscured or private geoprivacy applied. if a particular user grants project curators access to the underlying true locations of such observations, then those project curators who have been granted special access via a project may see information slightly different from other users who do not have such access.

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