OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap of Cambridge, England
URL	OpenStreetMap.org
Slogan	The Free Wiki World Map
Commercial?	No
Type of site	Collaborative mapping
Registration	required for contributors
Owner	OpenStreetMap Community. Project support by OpenStreetMap Foundation.[1]
Created by	Steve Coast
Launched	1 July 2004; 7 years ago  (2004-07-01)
Alexa rank	6,075 (June 2012[update])[2]

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. Two major driving forces behind the establishment and growth of OSM have been restrictions on use or availability of map information across much of the world and the advent of inexpensive portable satellite navigation devices.^[3]

The maps are created using data from portable GPS devices, aerial photography, other free sources or simply from local knowledge. Both rendered images and the vector dataset are available for download under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence.^[4]

The OpenStreetMap approach to mapping was inspired by sites such as Wikipedia;^[5] the map display features a prominent "Edit" link and a full revision history is maintained. Registered users can upload GPS track logs and edit the vector data using free GIS editing tools like JOSM.^[6] Various mobile applications also allow contribution of GPX tracks to the OSM project.

History[link]

Steve Coast (2009)

OpenStreetMap usage stats. Dark is better and popular. (February 2011)

OpenStreetMap (OSM) was founded in July 2004 by Steve Coast. In April 2006, the OpenStreetMap Foundation (OSMF) was established to encourage the growth, development and distribution of free geospatial data and provide geospatial data for anybody to use and share. In December 2006, Yahoo confirmed that OpenStreetMap could use its aerial photography as a backdrop for map production.^[7]

In April 2007, Automotive Navigation Data (AND) donated a complete road data set for the Netherlands and trunk road data for India and China to the project^[8] and by July 2007, when the first OSM international The State of the Map conference was held, there were 9,000 registered users. Sponsors of the event included Google, Yahoo and Multimap. In October 2007, OpenStreetMap completed the import of a US Census TIGER road dataset.^[9] In December 2007, Oxford University became the first major organisation to use OpenStreetMap data on their main website.^[10]

In January 2008, functionality was made available to download map data into a GPS unit for use by cyclists.^[11] In February 2008, a series of workshops were held in India.^[12] In March, two founders announced that they have received venture capital funding of 2.4M euros for CloudMade, a commercial company that will use OpenStreetMap data.^[13]

Users[link]

By August 2008, shortly after the second The State of the Map conference was held, there were over 50,000 registered contributors; by March 2009, there were 100,000 and by the end of 2009 the figure was nearly 200,000. In April 2012, OpenStreetMap cleared 600,000 registered users.^[14]

Not all registered contributors actually contribute to the map; a minority of individuals contribute the majority of the content. In March 2008, approximately 10% of the registered user base were contributing map data each month,^[15] and in 2011, this percentage is around 3%.^[14]

Map production[link]

Recording a GPS trace.

Technique[link]

The initial map data were collected from scratch by volunteers performing systematic ground surveys using a handheld GPS unit and a notebook, digital camera, or a voice recorder. These data were then entered into the OpenStreetMap database.

More recently, the availability of aerial photography and other data sources from commercial and government sources has greatly increased the speed of this work and has allowed land-use data to be collected more accurately.

When large datasets are available, a technical team manages the conversion and import of the data.

Structured ground surveys[link]

Raw GPS data (tracklogs) for Hedge End.

Varying accuracy of GPS tracks from different GPS receivers

Surveying during a family excursion can inspire and lead to changed routes

Ground surveys are performed by a mapper, on foot, bicycle or in a car or boat. Map data are usually collected using a GPS unit, although this is not strictly necessary if an area has already been traced from satellite imagery.

Once the data has been collected, it is entered into the database by uploading it on the project's website. At that point in time, no information about the kind of uploaded track is available — it could be e.g. a motorway, a footpath or a river. Thus, in a second step, editing takes place using one of several purpose-built map editors. This is usually done by the same mapper, sometimes by other users registered at OpenStreetMap.

As collecting and uploading data is separated from editing objects, contribution to the project is possible also without using a GPS unit. In particular, placing and editing objects such as schools, hospitals, taxi ranks, bus stops, pubs etc. is done based on editors' local knowledge.

Some committed contributors are systematically mapping whole towns and cities over a period of time, or organising mapping parties to intensively map a particular area over an evening or a weekend.

In addition to structured surveys, a large number of smaller edits are made by contributors to correct errors or add features.

Government data sources[link]

Some government agencies have released official data on appropriate licenses. Much of this data has come from the United States, where the federal government does not copyright such data. See Copyright status of work by the U.S. government for more details.

• Landsat 7 satellite imagery
• Prototype Global Shorelines (PGS)
• TIGER data of the United States
• Ordnance Survey OpenData
• NRCan's CanVec vector data and GeoBase's vector data sets of Canada
• The National Map (USGS)

Various authorities have also made more local detailed aerial photography available on suitable licenses through OpenAerialMap.

Out-of-copyright maps can be good source of information about features that do not change frequently. Copyright periods vary, but in the UK, Crown copyright expires after 50 years and hence Ordnance Survey maps until the 1960s can legally be used. A complete set of UK 1 inch/mile maps from the late 1940s and early 1950s has been collected, scanned, and is available online as a resource for contributors.

Commercial data sources[link]

Some commercial companies have donated data to the project on suitable licenses. Notably, Automotive Navigation Data provided a complete road data set for Netherlands and details of trunk roads in China and India.

In December 2006, Yahoo! confirmed that OpenStreetMap was able to make use of their vertical aerial imagery and this photography was available within the editing software as an overlay. Contributors could create their vector based maps as a derived work, released with a free and open license,^[7] until the shutdown of the Yahoo! Maps API on September 13, 2011.^[16]

In November 2010, Microsoft announced that the OpenStreetMap community could use Bing vertical aerial imagery as a backdrop in its editors.^[17]

NearMap Pty Ltd have, since launch in November 2009, made their high-resolution PhotoMaps (currently of major Australian cities, plus some rural Australian areas) available for deriving OpenStreetMap data under a CC-BY-SA licence.^[18]

Licensing[link]

Homepage of OpenStreetMap.org

The OpenStreetMap database[link]

OpenStreetMap data is published under an open content license, with the intention of promoting free use and re-distribution of the data (both commercial and non-commercial). The license currently used is the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 licence; however, legal investigation work and community consultation is underway to relicense the project under the Open Database License (ODbL) from Open Data Commons (ODC), claimed to be more suitable for a map data set.^[4]

As part of this relicensing process, some of the map data will have to be deleted. This includes all data contributed by members who have not agreed to the new licensing terms, as well as all subsequent edits to those affected objects. It also includes any data contributed based on input data that are not compatible with the new terms. Current estimates suggest that over 97% of data will be retained globally, however certain regions will be affected more than others, such as in Australia where 24 to 84% of objects will be retained (depending on the type of object).^[19]

Input data[link]

All data added to the project need to have a license compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. This can include out-of-copyright information, public domain or other licenses. All contributors must register with the project and agree to provide data on a Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0 licence, or determine that the licensing of the source data is suitable. This may involve examining licences for government data to establish whether they are compatible.

This change in the licensing means that data added in future must be compatible with both the Open Database License and the new Contributor Terms in order to be accepted.

Software[link]

Software used in the production and presentation of OpenStreetMap data is available from many different projects and each may have their own licencing. The application — what users access to edit maps and view changelogs, is powered by Ruby on Rails. The application also uses PostgreSQL for storage of user data and edit metadata.

The default map is rendered by Mapnik, stored in PostGIS, and powered by an Apache module called mod_tile.

Certain parts of the software, such as the Flash-based map editor Potlatch2, have been made available as public domain.^[20]

Derivations of OpenStreetMap Data[link]

OpenSeaMap.org

OpenStreetMap is used as a data source for numerous other sites, that choose specific features of the data to highlight or remove, and provide features like higher performance and different aesthetics.

Off-line raster maps[link]

• Marble viewer by KDE for GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows
• OpenSeaMap downloadable charts for PC (all operating systems), Garmin, Lowrance, PDA, PNA
• eBookMaps downloadable street maps for ebook readers (Kindle, Nook etc.)

Handheld GPS receivers[link]

• Garmin: There are several programs available that can convert OpenStreetMap data into Garmin compatible maps^[22]
• Bryton Ryder 50 will be the first cycling computer and SatNav device to come with OpenStreetMap data factory-loaded^[23]

Mobile phones[link]

A wide variety of programs exist by now that use OpenStreetMap data to display maps on mobile phones,^[24] supporting a large number of different devices. Amongst supported devices are nearly all phones that can run Java ME, making OpenStreetMap available to the majority of current phones, as well as platforms like Maemo, Android,^[25] the iPhone,^[26] Windows Mobile,^[27] Blackberry, or Openmoko.^[28] The various programs distinguish themselves according to key features like if they use raster maps or vector maps, need an Internet connection or can be used offline, support alternate render layers such as cycle paths,^[29] support address search or advanced features like routing, thus catering for a large number of different needs for viewing maps. With the inclusion of OpenStreetMap support in several programming libraries for mobile phones,^[30][31] it is also possible to include OSM maps in other location-based service.

Flickr[link]

Yahoo has started using OpenStreetMap data within its Flickr service for various cities around the world, including Baghdad, Beijing, Kabul, Santiago, Sydney and Tokyo.^[32][33][34]

Foursquare[link]

On 29 February 2012, Foursquare started using OpenStreetMap maps.^[35]

Apple[link]

With the launch of iPhoto for iOS on March 7, 2012 (2012-03-07) Apple Inc. started using OpenStreetMap data for photos with geolocation tags embedded. iPhoto for iOS 1.0.0 initially lacked OSM attribution. Later an updated version, 1.0.1, was released which contains the required OSM attribution.^[36]

Blog/CMS Integration[link]

The WordPress OpenStreetMap plug-in^[37] inserts maps and adds geo meta tags to posts / pages of WordPress blogs.

Drupal has multiple OpenStreetMap plug-in modules^[38] to integrate database content with OpenStreetMaps.

Joomla also has a variety of OpenStreetMap related modules^[39] and plug-ins.^[40]

Map data[link]

Map data is available for download in a variety of formats and for different geographical areas:

• OpenStreetMap OSM^[41]
• CloudMade OSM, Garmin^[42]
• Geofabrik OSM, ESRI^[43]

OSM provides information that other map sites don't provide:

• Territorial waters
• High speed rail in China

Monopoly City Streets[link]

In 2009, Hasbro, the games company behind the property trading board game Monopoly, launched Monopoly City Streets, a massively multiplayer online game which allowed players to "buy" streets all over the world. Although the game used map tiles from Google Maps and the Google Maps API to display the game board, the underlying vector street data was obtained from OpenStreetMap.^[44] The online game was meant to be a limited time offering, closing at the end of January 2010.^[45]

Haiti earthquake[link]

During the 2010 Haiti earthquake, OpenStreetMap and Crisis Commons volunteers used available satellite imagery^[46] to map the roads, buildings and refugee camps of Port-au-Prince in just two days, building "the most complete digital map of Haiti's roads".^[47]

The resulting data and maps have been used by several organisations providing relief aid, such as the World Bank,^[48] the European Commission Joint Research Centre,^[49] the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,^[50] UNOSAT^[50] and others.^[51]

Software[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (January 2010)

Map rendering and presentation[link]

OpenStreetMap of Soho, central London (Mapnik layer)

• OpenStreetMap provides an OpenLayers based slippy map interface, displaying map tiles rendered by the Mapnik rendering engines, and tiles from other sources including OpenCycleMap.org and MapQuest Open.

JOSM - Java-based map editor

• Desktop
  • Maperitive — Windows and Linux application for rendering maps, it is a successor to Kosmos.
  • Prune — Open source Java application for viewing and editing data recorded by GPS. Uses OSM for the map layers.
  • Marble — Free and open source desktop-globe, which supports OpenStreetMap data.
  • Navit Free, modular, touch screen friendly, navigation system with GPS tracking, which can use and render OpenStreetMap data.
  • Nokia's Ovi Maps for Maemo^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]}
  • Quantum GIS — Open source desktop GIS which includes OSM plugin
  • GPSBabel — converts tracklogs from one format to another.

• Mobile
  • Oruxmaps for android
  • Navit

Merkaartor - Multi-platform Qt-based map editor

• Web
  • Wordpress Blogs via OSM Plugin

Routing (directions, navigation)[link]

There are lists of online and offline routers available on the OSM wiki. Following routing software supports OpenStreetMaps:

• CycleStreets (UK)
• MapQuest (Worldwide) Routing data updated daily.
• Gosmore
• MoNav — Makes use of Contraction Hierarchies to allow for routing on continent sized graphs, even on mobile devices.
• Navit
• Pyroute
• Open Source Routing Machine
• OpenRouteService (Europe)
• Traveling salesman — Open source Java application working as route-planner and GPS-Navigator using the map-data from OpenStreetMap via LibOSM

Data format[link]

Core elements[link]

OpenStreetMap uses a topological data structure, with four core elements (also known as data primitives):

• Nodes are points with a geographic position. Positions are stored as coordinates (pairs of a latitude and a longitude) according to WGS 84.^[52].
• Ways are ordered lists of nodes, representing a polyline, or possibly a polygon if the last node is equal to the first.
• Relations are groups of nodes, ways and other relations which can be assigned certain properties.
• Tags can be applied to nodes, ways or relations and consist of name=value pairs.

Up to version 0.4 of the protocol, an intermediate element between nodes and ways (segments, line segments which two node produced) was also used.

Usage of elements[link]

• Nodes represent map features without a size, such as points of interest, mountain peaks, or centers of a settlement.
• Ways (despite their name) are used both for representing linear features (such as streets and rivers), and for areas (such as forests, parks, parking areas or lakes). Sometimes an ambiguity between a line and an area is resolved by adding an area tag to an object (such as to indicate that a circular walking path object represents a walking area rather than a walking loop). Since a way can only define an area as a polygon, it cannot describe an area with a hole (such as a forest with a clearing). This is accomplished with relations.
• Relations are used for representing the relationship of existing nodes and ways. Examples include turn restrictions on roads, routes that span several existing ways, and areas with holes.
• Tags are used to store metadata about the map objects (such as their type, their name and their physical properties). A recommended ontology of map features (the meaning of tags) is maintained on a wiki.

See also[link]

Atlas portal

• Collaborative mapping
• Counter-mapping
• Google Map Maker
• Google Maps
• Neogeography
• OpenLayers
• WikiMapia
• Comparison of web map services

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Bennett, Jonathan (2010). OpenStreetMap: Be your own Cartographer. Packt Publishing. p. 252. ISBN 978-1-84719-750-4. http://www.packtpub.com/openstreetmap/book. 
• Ramm, Frederik; Topf, Jochen; Chilton, Steve (2010). OpenStreetMap: Using and Enhancing the Free Map of the World. UIT Cambridge. p. 386. ISBN 978-1-906860-11-0. http://www.openstreetmap.info. 
• OpenStreetMap in the media (2005 to present) (OSM wiki link)
• OpenStreetMap in scientific publications (OSM wiki link)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: OpenStreetMap

• OpenStreetMap - project page with editing interface
• OpenStreetBrowser - simple map viewer
• OpenStreetMap Foundation
• OpenStreetMap Wiki
• Map Compare tools.geofabrik.de online-comparison between Google Maps and OpenStreetMap
• OpenSource navigation system
• Illustrated BBC report about OpenStreetMap helping in Haiti after the earthquake
• Evolution of European OpenStreetMap coverage 2006-2010 (video)
• OSM 2008: A Year of Edits (video)