My Mission
I advocate for implementing maps in Web browsers, by extending HTML to include MapML.Biography
Peter Rushforth is a Technology Advisor with the GeoConnections Program at the Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation, Natural Resources Canada. Peter has been involved in geospatial software for many years, with a particular career emphasis on open standards and naturally, open source geospatial software.
Peter initiated the Maps for HTML Community Group in the W3C in 2014, and has continued to scratch the itch of bringing geospatial standards into mainstream Web standards since then. In 2020, Peter led the first joint W3C-OGC Workshop on Maps for the Web, which brought together a wide variety of representative stakeholders in the GeoWeb.
In 2018, Peter co-authored a community module for GeoServer, which he continues to maintain and enhance as the GeoServer MapML extension, with the goal of making browser-native Web maps a standard, supported by FOSS4G.
The objective of extending HTML with maps is that:
- learners of all ages can come to the standards-based Web through the beauty and fascination of maps and geography
- corporate geospatial platforms aren’t the necessary and primary distributors of geographic knowledge, technology and skills
- individuals with and without disabilities are enabled to benefit directly from being able to use natively accessible and extensible Web maps and location
- geospatial search and discovery are a native facet of Web culture and technology
