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Sunday, 09. February 2025

weeklyOSM

weeklyOSM 759

30/01/2025-05/02/2025 [1] An interactive air quality map for Kigali, Rwanda. © Open Seneca | © Mapbox | Map data © OpenStreetMap Contributors. Mapping Requests for comments have been made on this proposal: traffic_sign:id=* to explicitly reference official traffic sign identifiers, improving data accuracy and interoperability with external databases. Mapping campaigns AE35 has announced t

30/01/2025-05/02/2025

lead picture

[1] An interactive air quality map for Kigali, Rwanda. © Open Seneca | © Mapbox | Map data © OpenStreetMap Contributors.

Mapping

  • Requests for comments have been made on this proposal:
    • traffic_sign:id=* to explicitly reference official traffic sign identifiers, improving data accuracy and interoperability with external databases.

Mapping campaigns

  • AE35 has announced that OpenStreetMap Denmark’s Mapping Project of the Month for February 2025 will focus on bench mapping. To support participants, 15 grants of 100 DKK are available for refreshments on a first-come, first-served basis. To claim a grant, mappers can email soren DOT johannessen AT gmail DOT com with their MobilePay number and OpenStreetMap username.
  • After five years of work, OSM mapper Ottwiz has completed mapping West Virginia’s forest landcover and is now shifting focus to Pennsylvania.

Community

  • YouthMappers UFRJ Chapter (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) highlighted their main achievements since its creation and extended an invitation to participate with its vibrant mapper community.
  • Anne-Karoline Distel recapped her mapping contributions made while touring the Netherlands with a band (we reported earlier). Using a GoPro Max, she captured 360° imagery along motorways and concert venues, significantly improving the coverage on Panoramax. She also mapped thatched buildings, defibrillators, and backstage amenities in theatres, adding missing shops, streetlights, and other details. Despite the limited daylight, Anne-Karoline ranked number 56 in Dutch OSM contributions.
  • Anne-Karoline also announced that the OpenStreetMap Ireland community has successfully completed the Dundalk mapping project.

Local chapter news

  • Matthew Whilden has released his candidate statement for the upcoming OSM US Board 2025 election.

Events

  • You can participate in the selection of a SotM LatAm2025 logo by participating in the OSM Community forum survey before Wednesday 12 February.

Education

  • Emilie Lerigoleur, from the Géographie de l’Environnement research group at the Université de Toulouse II (France), highlighted the potential of uMap in the training of geographers and the visualisation of scientific data. You can access some learning resources and start to map with uMap.

OSM research

  • Zhang and other authors published a paper in the International Journal of Digital Earth, tracking individual OSM mappers’ trajectories of editing behaviour. The paper concluded that OSM has been self-sustaining so far and does not yet show any signs of decline, along with the finding that most contributors transition to a higher career stage within a month, a conclusion that may cause more than one raised eyebrow.
  • Scholz and other authors have written a paper on investigating the potential of using OpenStreetMap data to understand exposure and vulnerabilities to climate-related hazards of Sudan’s most vulnerable populations, such as internally displaced persons or refugees displaced by violent conflict.

Maps

  • Cayenne has tooted a map illustrating the percentage of fibre to the home eligibility coverage by department in metropolitan France for the third quarter of 2024. The map was created using QGIS, combining data from ARCEP, France’s telecommunications and postal regulator, with a basemap from OpenStreetMap.
  • The eu citizen science has an interactive map, developed using OSM, Mapbox and Leaflet, showing research groups and related citizen science initiatives around the world.
  • You can see an interesting uMap, created by Alan Grunitzki, showing Xanxerê City’s (Santa Catarina, Brazil) emergency escape routes.
  • The United Nations office in Brazil has created a map showing its initiatives related to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030, using OpenStreetMap data, Mapbox and Leaflet, a powerful JavaScript Library for web map interactivity.

OSM in action

  • [1] Open Seneca has launched an interactive air quality map for Kigali, Rwanda, providing a visual representation of air pollution levels across the city, with OpenStreetMap data as its basemap. The data was gathered in 2021 through a network of 16 sensors mounted on electric delivery motorbikes, capturing pollution levels during their daily travels.

Software

  • The Agence Nationale de la cohésion des territoires has published a newsletter describing the advances in using uMap (OSM-fr tool) in the development of a map tool for the French administration. You can also access a website to explore the maps generated by the community.
  • HeiGIT has recently expanded the ohsome Quality API and its dashboard, adding a new indicator to assess attribute completeness in OpenStreetMap and introducing major upgrades to the functionalities of this Indicator:
    • Multi-Attribute Queries: Assess the completeness of multiple attributes simultaneously, such as comprehensive address information.
    • Custom Attribute Filters: Define complex key-value combinations using and/or logic for more advanced data analysis.

    The code is available on GitHub.

Programming

  • Savaş Altürk published on using Panel, DuckDB, and MapLibre for data analytics.
  • The OpenStreetMap Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2025 committee is seeking project ideas and mentors for this year’s event. GSoC provides stipends for students and new open-source contributors to develop OSM-related software. Interested mentors and project contributors can submit their ideas on the OSM Wiki.
  • Along with the usual charts, the Plotly library lets you create interactive maps with OSM. The open source graphing library is available for both Python and Javascript and has moved from Mapbox to Maplibre as the rendering engine, while still providing various OSM styles. There is also a tutorial that shows how to render OpenStreetMap tile layers using the Maplibre library.

Releases

  • Version 1.5.1 of Baba for Android has been released. It is used to contribute to the Panoramax project and new features include the resumption of recordings interrupted by calls and setting the image orientation.
  • Yohan Boniface listed the improvements made to the user experience in the pre-release version of uMap (2.9.0b0).
  • TrickyFoxy outlined the new features of their better-osm-org browser userscript, for adding additional functionality to the OpenStreetMap website. This update implements the display of photos associated with StreetComplete notes, and the panoramax=* and wikimedia_commons=* tags. Also added are the display of users’ GPS tracks on the map and when opening notes from StreetComplete. The changesets history page now displays the first comment to a changeset. You can read about the other functions of the script in their other diary entries.

Did you know that …

  • … OSM has a feature to allow you to follow other mappers’ edits? The edits of the mappers you are following will appear as a list in your OSM user dashboard.
  • … there is a Wiki OSM page that lists some websites and services that use OpenStreetMap, clustered by countries, companies and thematic categories? And that you can help to improve it?

OSM in the media

  • The Sydney Morning Herald has highlighted Jake Coppinger’s Better Intersections project (we reported earlier) in a recent article on pedestrian-friendly traffic reforms. Anthony Segaert’s article notes that the push for improved walking spaces gained momentum in 2023 when Coppinger began crowdsourcing a survey to identify the local intersections with the longest pedestrian wait times.
  • Les Petites Affiches has published an article about OSM, highlighting its advantages and collaborative nature.

Other “geo” things

  • Pablo Sanxiao has written [gl] Fina e os mapas, a children’s book about cartography and collaborative maps, with OpenStreetMap being mentioned as an example. The book, currently available in Galician and Spanish, can be translated into other languages from its GitHub repository.
  • PetaPixel reported on safety concerns surrounding GeoSpy, an AI tool capable of pinpointing a photo’s location by analysing its visual elements.

Upcoming Events

Where What Online When Country
Wien 73. Wiener OSM-Stammtisch 2025-02-06 flag
Montrouge Réunion des contributeurs de Montrouge et du Sud de Paris 2025-02-06 flag
Guadalajara A Synesthete’s Atlas: Cartographic Improvisations between Eric Theise and Fernando Feria 2025-02-07 flag
OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting 2025-02-07
København OSMmapperCPH 2025-02-09 flag
Grenoble Atelier de février du groupe local de Grenoble 2025-02-10 flag
中正區 OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #73 2025-02-10 flag
Hamburg Hamburger Mappertreffen 2025-02-11 flag
Meeting preparing the creation of the Catalan Association of the OSM 2025-02-11
München Münchner OSM-Treffen 2025-02-12 flag
Mappy Hour: State of the Map US Info Session 2025-02-13
Richmond MapRVA Meetup 2025-02-14 flag
Bochum Bochumer OSM-Treffen 2025-02-13 flag
Moers I Love Free Software Day Community-Hackday vom 14. – 16. Februar 2025 im JuNo, Moers Repelen 2025-02-14 – 2025-02-16 flag
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe Hack Weekend 2025-02-15 – 2025-02-16 flag
東区 State of the Map Japan 2024 2025-02-14 flag
Panoramax monthly international meeting 2025-02-17
Missing Maps London: (Online) Mid-Month Mapathon [eng] 2025-02-18
Lyon Réunion du groupe local de Lyon 2025-02-18 flag
Arlon Réunion Province de Luxembourg 2025-02-18 flag
San Jose South Bay Map Night 2025-02-19 flag
Bonn 185. OSM-Stammtisch Bonn 2025-02-18 flag
Lüneburg Lüneburger Mappertreffen 2025-02-18 flag
[Online] Map-py Wednesday 2025-02-19
Hannover OSM-Stammtisch Hannover 2025-02-19 flag
Karlsruhe Stammtisch Karlsruhe 2025-02-19 flag

Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into the OSM calendar. Only data which is there, will appear in weeklyOSM.

This weeklyOSM was produced by MarcoR, PierZen, Raquel Dezidério Souto, Strubbl, TheSwavu, barefootstache, mcliquid.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue via this form and look forward to your contributions.

Saturday, 08. February 2025

OpenStreetMap User's Diaries

OSM US Board Candidate Statement 2025

About Me

I have been a member of OpenStreetMap US for five years, engaged in fostering open data and community collaboration. My first experience with OpenStreetMap was while working in emergency management in 2010 when the Haiti earthquake occurred. As someone trained in disaster response, I watched the events in Haiti unfold and looked for ways to contribute. It was also my gateway into other

About Me

I have been a member of OpenStreetMap US for five years, engaged in fostering open data and community collaboration. My first experience with OpenStreetMap was while working in emergency management in 2010 when the Haiti earthquake occurred. As someone trained in disaster response, I watched the events in Haiti unfold and looked for ways to contribute. It was also my gateway into other open data & software communities, such as QGIS and OSGeo, which informed my educational approach during my time at the University of Arizona Libraries.

I helped host the first MappingUSA virtual conference and, in 2022, hosted the State of the Map US conference at the University of Arizona in Tucson, marking the first in-person gathering post-COVID. I currently work at Development Seed, an organization with a long-standing commitment to OpenStreetMap. I drive our team’s community strategy by supporting OpenStreetMap events and engaging with other open geo communities. My background in geospatial technology, open data advocacy, and community engagement equips me with a unique perspective to support and strengthen OSM US.

Advancing OSM US

OpenStreetMap is more than just a map—it is a platform for civic engagement, education, and open collaboration. As a board member, I would focus on:

  • Strengthening Educational Initiatives: While I was at the University of Arizona, I benefitted from the work of people who are part of TeachOSM and YouthMappers. I was the only geospatial specialist at the Library, where I taught workshops, developed learning materials, and consulted with researchers on geospatial data and tools. OSM is a fantastic resource for engaging students in geography, technology, and their local communities. I want to see OSM US build more tools and resources that make it easier for educators to bring OSM into the classroom and would work to implement a plan for growth in this area.

  • Expanding Government Engagement: OpenStreetMap is gaining traction among state and local governments for data use and contributions, particularly through the Public Domain Map initiative. I want to strengthen these partnerships to ensure OSM continues to serve as a critical public resource. I would work with the OSM US team to further develop the strategy around government engagement.

  • Connecting with the Global OSM Community: As one of the larger local OSM chapters, it is essential for OSM US to engage meaningfully with the global OpenStreetMap community. Strengthening these ties will allow us to learn from and contribute to the broader OSM ecosystem. I have existing connections to active contributors in Latin America and Europe.

  • Exploring Opportunities with Other Open Data Communities: I am particularly interested in how OSM US can collaborate with other open data initiatives to build a stronger, more resilient network. We can ensure mutual benefit, reinforce shared values, and create a more impactful open data ecosystem by working together.

What I Bring to the Board

My career has been dedicated to making geospatial data more accessible and actionable. As the Technical Communications Lead at Development Seed, I help translate complex geospatial technology and tools into information that empowers users. Previously, I worked in academia, leading geospatial literacy initiatives and organizing GIS-focused events to connect students, researchers, and practitioners. I have also worked in emergency management and disaster response, where I saw firsthand the importance of open data in crisis situations. My strengths lie at the intersection of technology, community, and communication. I love helping non-technical users engage with geospatial data and believe that OSM US should continue to invest in making OpenStreetMap as accessible and inclusive as possible. If elected to the board, I will advocate for OSM US to grow as a leader in open data, education, and government engagement, ensuring our map remains a dynamic and valuable public resource. I would be honored to serve and look forward to collaborating with the OSM community to build a stronger, more connected, and impactful OpenStreetMap US.

More about me on LinkedIn


Como criar uma camada de fundo personalizada de limite de bairro para o mapeamento no openstreetmap

Como criar uma camada de fundo personalizada de limite de bairro para o mapeamento no openstreetmap em qualquer estado do Brasil.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eKytB2F28A

link para baixar o arquivo de limite de bairro, site do IBGE. www.ibge.gov.br/geociencias/downloads-geociencias.html?caminho=organizacao_do_territorio/malhas_territoriais/malhas_de_setores_censitarios__divisoes_i

Como criar uma camada de fundo personalizada de limite de bairro para o mapeamento no openstreetmap em qualquer estado do Brasil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eKytB2F28A

camada de fundo  personalizada para o mapeamento de limites de bairros

link para baixar o arquivo de limite de bairro, site do IBGE. https://www.ibge.gov.br/geociencias/downloads-geociencias.html?caminho=organizacao_do_territorio/malhas_territoriais/malhas_de_setores_censitarios__divisoes_intramunicipais/censo_2022/bairros/shp/UF


ミスや誤情報を追加する編集者への対処法

2023年から主に埼玉県をマッピングをしています大山かなめといいます。

はじめての投稿がこのような話題で気が引けるのですが、ある編集者がミスや誤情報の追加を複数回している場合、どのような対処があるでしょうか。

  • 2年以上前に解体され、Esriで更地が確認できる建物を描画している
  • ウェイにタグが無いまま送信を行っている(JOSMではバリデーションされない?)
  • 変更セットのコメントに誤った市名を書いている(坂戸市や川越市にも関わらず、川口市と書いているなど)

問題のある変更セットには議論機能で指摘を行っていますが、古いため通知が行かないのか反応されないことがしばしばあります。

メッセージを送る機能を使うのが最善でしょうか?

2023年から主に埼玉県をマッピングをしています大山かなめといいます。

はじめての投稿がこのような話題で気が引けるのですが、ある編集者がミスや誤情報の追加を複数回している場合、どのような対処があるでしょうか。

  • 2年以上前に解体され、Esriで更地が確認できる建物を描画している
  • ウェイにタグが無いまま送信を行っている(JOSMではバリデーションされない?)
  • 変更セットのコメントに誤った市名を書いている(坂戸市や川越市にも関わらず、川口市と書いているなど)

問題のある変更セットには議論機能で指摘を行っていますが、古いため通知が行かないのか反応されないことがしばしばあります。

メッセージを送る機能を使うのが最善でしょうか?


OSM US Board Candidate Statement 2025

About Me

Hey folks! I’m Gregory Power (they/them) and I’ve been a part of the map since November 2023. I am currently a Data Scientist (Contractor) for Cary, North Carolina—where I manage Cary’s Open Data Portal and other analytics infrastructure. In my spare time I enjoy learning about urban planning and equitable, multimodal infrastructure. I’m also involved with the Pedestrian Working Group,

About Me

Hey folks! I’m Gregory Power (they/them) and I’ve been a part of the map since November 2023. I am currently a Data Scientist (Contractor) for Cary, North Carolina—where I manage Cary’s Open Data Portal and other analytics infrastructure. In my spare time I enjoy learning about urban planning and equitable, multimodal infrastructure. I’m also involved with the Pedestrian Working Group, Government Working Group, and my community’s Strong Towns chapter. I enjoy contributing to the open source geospatial software community, with a soft spot for GDAL, QGIS, GRASS GIS, and DuckDB—so everyone can have the tools to understand the world around them. Even though there’s a great set of tools for us to use, it’s nothing without having an open ecosystem of data.

My Mapping

My first project in OpenStreetMap was tracing plans for Cary’s Downtown Park into OpenStreetMap. With the updated layout, Cary’s Integration and Development Team could have a basemap to put our sensor data on. Once I realized OpenStreetMap data was used by all of our applications across the town and beyond, I was hooked. I enjoy mapping multimodal transportation infrastructure, handicapped parking, and restaurants. I’ve trained team members on conducting field surveys with StreetComplete and captured street imagery with Mapillary.

As a Board Member

It’s important that communities have access to data and the ability to make changes to increase the fidelity of the data. These are the objectives I’d prioritize:

  • Outreach to disenfranchised communities. I think this is important, because the OpenStreetMap project and ecosystem gives folks the opportunity to map what is important to them. Its barrier to entry is lower than any desktop geospatial software can provide through its rich ecosystem of tooling and sister projects like OpenHistoricalMap.
  • Outreach to government organizations. OpenStreetMap has become the de facto source of geospatial data for many applications and data products. Geospatial departments and their communities can work together to increase the quality of the map. Over the past year I’ve enjoyed seeing municipalities such as Kendall County, Illinois be a model of what data stewardship looks like. Sharing that story with other municipalities may inspire others to do the same. Providing an on-ramp for organizations on how to be team players in the OpenStreetMap community would be beneficial.
  • Encourage collaboration across working groups. I’ve enjoyed participating across the Pedestrian and Government working groups. However, the most enriching conversations I’ve had are when I get to hear updates and presentations from members of other working groups. I think it’s worth investing time to share approaches to building communities and engagement amongst working groups.

Empowering others to find solutions to their problems fills my cup. OpenStreetMap provides an ecosystem where we can form mutually beneficial relationships. If anyone has any questions or comments, I’d enjoy hearing from you.

Thursday, 06. February 2025

Nominatim

Nominatim 5.0.0 released

We are happy to announce the release of Nominatim 5.0.0. This major release marks the end of a 4-year journey to modernize and modularize the Nominatim codebase in order to make it easier to use and maintain.

We are happy to announce the release of Nominatim 5.0.0. This major release marks the end of a 4-year journey to modernize and modularize the Nominatim codebase in order to make it easier to use and maintain.

This release finishes the mutation of Nominatim into a Python package. The PHP frontend, bundled osm2pgsql and cmake build scripts have now been removed for good. If you are still using one of these features, then you should update your software to Nominatim 4.5 and then move to the new Python frontend and pip installation. Once done, you can easily update to the latest version 5 release.

Also in this release, the osm2pgsql import style configuration has been largely be rewritten. If you are using one of the built-in styles, this will not make much of a difference. If you are maintaining your own custom style, however, this should become much easier. Most notable, it is now possible to start with one of the existing styles and add your customizations on top. That should make it much easier to keep in sync with the latest changes in Nominatim. Have a look at the updated documentation for details. The new implementation is largely backwards compatible, so your old scripts will keep working for now.

With the new osm2pgsql style implementation comes the ability to use Nominatim together with osm2pgsql-themepark. This comes in handy when you want to combine Nominatim with other osm2pgsql flex styles in order to host OSM data for different purposes in the same database. Check out the updated cookbook about how to run Nominatim with osm-carto to learn how to use this feature.

Finally, Nominatim has a new hook for adding pre-processing functions for incoming search queries, allowing to apply custom filtering. The first filter to use this new functionality breaks up Japanese addresses into their parts.

A full list of changes can as always be found in the Changelog.


OpenStreetMap Blog

Eight New Companies Joined the OSM Corporate Membership Program in 2024

The number of OSM-using companies joining the OSM Foundation Corporate Membership program has increased significantly in recent months. In all, eight new companies joined and five increased their giving levels in 2024. >> Read more about becoming a Corporate Member of OpenStreetMap Starting from the top: Long-time OSM supporters, ESRI, Meta and Microsoft have joined […]

The number of OSM-using companies joining the OSM Foundation Corporate Membership program has increased significantly in recent months.

In all, eight new companies joined and five increased their giving levels in 2024.

>> Read more about becoming a Corporate Member of OpenStreetMap

Starting from the top: Long-time OSM supporters, ESRI, Meta and Microsoft have joined TomTom at the Platinum giving level. The Platinum tier is suggested for companies for which map applications are core to their business; and/or they have a product that depends on OSM data and/or revenue in the hundreds of millions.

>> Read more about Meta’s recent generous donation and partnership

Five new names now appear as supporters at the Silver giving level: global gaming and AR company Niantic, QGIS, calimoto, Mapy.cz, and ioki. Silver is recommended for companies who use OSM data in a product or service and have revenue in the millions.

“OpenStreetMap Foundation’s community-driven approach helps keep the map of the world as accurate as possible. As map lovers and builders ourselves, we are excited to help support the OSMF mission” – Yennie Solheim, Niantic Director of Social Impact

ESmart, which specializes in dynamic speed management, and LANDCLAN, offering location intelligence data and tools, are new joiners at the Bronze level. Interline, a transportation network consultancy, and Verso, a maker of wearable technology both upgraded their membership from Supporter to Bronze.

And Infrageomatics, offering location intelligence derived from open source infrastructure data, has joined as new Supporting member.

The success of OpenStreetMap depends on organizations that make financial contributions, donations “in kind” such as hosting services and other resources, and hardware. These philanthropic investments help ensure site stability, support the maintenance of technical infrastructure, and help sustain OSM’s volunteer community.

The OSM community and the OSMF are extraordinarily grateful for the sustaining contributions of Corporate Members.


OpenStreetMap User's Diaries

Revised Ritchot/McDonald R.M. boundary near PTH 247 and Andrechuk Road

This was harder than I thought it would be. The lesson for re-drawing a road was drag-and-drop. I could not insert an extra node in the Administrative Boundary in order to truncate the triangle.

I had to create a new Administrative Boundary and relate it to the existing boundary. Then delete the node at the top of the old boundary.

Requested review as I’m not sure that is the cor

This was harder than I thought it would be. The lesson for re-drawing a road was drag-and-drop. I could not insert an extra node in the Administrative Boundary in order to truncate the triangle.

I had to create a new Administrative Boundary and relate it to the existing boundary. Then delete the node at the top of the old boundary.

Requested review as I’m not sure that is the correct or accurate way to perform the task.

Wednesday, 05. February 2025

osm2pgsql

Sovereign Tech Fellowship for osm2pgsql

We are happy to announce that osm2pgsql maintainer Sarah has been selected as one of the fellows for the one-year pilot of the Sovereign Tech Fellowship programme of the Sovereign Tech Agency. The programme recognises and financially supports the significant amount of time that goes into the daily maintenance of an open-source project. Read more about the fellowship in Sarah’s post over at nominati

We are happy to announce that osm2pgsql maintainer Sarah has been selected as one of the fellows for the one-year pilot of the Sovereign Tech Fellowship programme of the Sovereign Tech Agency. The programme recognises and financially supports the significant amount of time that goes into the daily maintenance of an open-source project. Read more about the fellowship in Sarah’s post over at nominatim.org.


Nominatim

Joining the Sovereign Tech Fellowship Programme

I’m happy to announce that I have been selected for the one-year pilot of the Sovereign Tech Fellowship programme of the Sovereign Tech Agency. The fellowship programme will support maintenance of Nominatim, Photon, osm2pgsql and pyosmium over the next year.

I’m happy to announce that I have been selected for the one-year pilot of the Sovereign Tech Fellowship programme of the Sovereign Tech Agency. The fellowship programme will support maintenance of Nominatim, Photon, osm2pgsql and pyosmium over the next year.

Participating in an open-source software project like Nominatim or Photon is not just about the implementation of fancy new features or clever algorithms to improve performance or the user experience. A lot of work happens quietly behind the scene: user questions need to be answered and bug reports followed up. Dependent software needs to be monitored and updated as necessary. The own code needs to be reviewed and polished regularly to prevent it from ageing and slowly falling apart. CI pipelines are a great tool for a maintainer but they do break with an astonishing regularity and therefore need regular attention. Not to mention that a CI is useless without a set of well-maintained tests.

With its new Sovereign Tech Fellowship programme, the Sovereign Tech Agency recognises the importance of this maintenance work for the general functioning of the open source ecosystem. The programme will financially support my day-to-day tasks of software maintainership: responding to issues on Github, reviewing and merging pull requests, fixing reported bugs and addressing security issues, improving documentation and tests, preparing releases etc. On top of that there are some other not so glorious maintenance tasks that are planned for this year.

Nominatim’s import module relies on a datrie library, which has been unmaintained for some years and no longer compiles with the newest GCC compilers. We need to find a solution to that by either switching to a new library or taking over maintenance. A similar fate is likely in store for the testing library behave. With the latest stable release from 2018 and very few activity since, it is unclear how long it will remain functional with new versions of Python.

Photon has seen the move to OpenSearch 8 last year. This transition is far from finished. For example, there is still no proper support for using an external instance of OpenSearch instead of the embedded one. And ElasticSearch/OpenSearch itself has also seen some improvements in the last three versions we have skipped. It’s well worth investigating how geocoding can benefit from them.

These will, of course, not be the only things happening in 2025 for Nominatim and Photon. There will also be shiny new features and I have some ideas for improving performance and how to better handle the increasing complexity of OSM data. However, none of this can really happen, if the basis isn’t there and the general maintenance isn’t cared for.

Many thanks to the Sovereign Tech Agency for this great opportunity and the recognition of the importance of maintenance work for software.

If you want to support development and maintenance of Nominatim, too, please consider becoming a Github sponsor.


OpenStreetMap User's Diaries

#RelationsWithNoType — review relations with no type tag

Hello!

I’ve just found out that ~2k out of ~13M relations have no type tag, ~220 of which have the type tag with lifecycle prefix or date namespace suffix, so I’ve decided to review them manually, with the ones with no tags containing the word “type” being the first, correct some mistakes (e.g. missing type=multipolygon) and delete the unnecessary r

Hello!

I’ve just found out that ~2k out of ~13M relations have no type tag, ~220 of which have the type tag with lifecycle prefix or date namespace suffix, so I’ve decided to review them manually, with the ones with no tags containing the word “type” being the first, correct some mistakes (e.g. missing type=multipolygon) and delete the unnecessary relations (e.g. with duplicate tags). In case I make a mistake, please point it out on OSM Community topic or comment my changesets.

Regards

Kamil Kalata


OpenCage

Interview: Just van den Broecke - Alpumapa

We interview Amanda McCann, maker of WaterwayMap about the joys and pains of mapping waterways in OpenStreetMap

In the February 2025 edition of our interview series with OpenStreetMap communities around the world, we speak with open source geospatial software and OpenStreetMap veteran Just van den Broecke about the OpenStreetMap Alpumapa Workshop.

Before/after shot of a round of mapping

1. Who are you and what do you do? What got you into OpenStreetMap?

Just van den Broecke from The Netherlands, a long-time open source geospatial professional. I wrangle geospatial data, a.k.a. ETL, work on geospatial web services like OGC REST APIs, and make maps like map5topo.nl, a topographic map of The Netherlands.

Registered my OSM account ‘justb’ in 2005. Was then mapping inline skate-routes and contributed to hiking for years. Though I was not a very active mapper, I recently revived, also through this project and joining OSM-ES.

2. What is “Mapas y Tapas” in Alpujarra and why did you create it? Who participates?

“Mapas y Tapas” is a free Spanish translation of “Mapping Party”. We are a group, now mainly around Ugíjar, that started from a few workshops. The idea is getting together in any Alpujarra village bar, go out mapping, the “Mapas”. Then reconvene at the bar, discussing results with drinks and “Tapas” (free with every drink in Andalusia).

Why? Several reasons: the Alpujarra or “Las Alpujarras”, a hidden gem in Spain!, is sparsely mapped in OpenStreetMap. Municipalities are attracting digital nomads as one way to counter depopulation. For this, Alpujarra Knowmads was established. Then at least the area needs to be mapped, in particular amenities (bars, shops, opening times…) . Also the well-known commercial map providers have sparse and outdated maps. Another reason is that just after I joined OSM-ES (Telegram) in oct 2024, the DANA storm in Valencia broke out. It appeared that most of the small villages, “pueblos”, around Valencia were poorly mapped, hindering navigation for aid workers. Quickly the OSM-ES community established a HOT project where 100s of mappers worldwide mapped the areas the best they could. DANA hit Málaga and mostly Valencia, the Alpujarra is in between, was lucky this time…And more recently: OSM is a perfect alternative for “Big Tech” maps. I try to convince folks, also non-mappers, to use OSM-based apps like Organic Maps.

Explore the area

Basically anyone participates, young & old, both local Spanish and what we could call immigrants or expats, mostly from Northern Europe, like UK, Denmark, The Netherlands.

3. What are the unique challenges and pleasures of mapping in this region of Spain? What aspects of the projects should the rest of the world be aware of?

There are many pleasures first: being outdoor in magnificent landscapes and lovely, mostly former Moorish, whitewashed villages. Also the fact that there is so much to map makes, let’s say mapping amenities with EveryDoor, you feel accomplishing a lot. I showed before/after maps and results are staggering. Also we have some remote Spanish “armchair mappers” helping out. Also the support from the Spanish OSM community is warm.

In the field

Challenges? Well, speaking a bit of Spanish helps. Also convincing older local people. Some areas are really remote, hard to drive with regular cars. And off course: beware of getting burnt from the sun! And please: use the Buildings and Addresses Import Spain procedures to import, i.s.o. drawing buildings on aerial imagery, however tempting. Spanish Cadastre provides open (INSPIRE) data!

In the field

The greatest challenge is marketing and communication: how/where to announce, how to keep in touch. Within the region Facebook and Instagram are still a major communication channel for villages. Challenge is also to explain what OSM is about, why it matters for the region. Communication is also often with leaflets and cars with speakers driving around.

4. What have you learned? What is the best way for people to do something similar in their region?

Start super-simple: only with the EveryDoor app. Maybe StreetComplete, though Android-only. Leave Id, JOSM etc for much later. Advantage is: no need to bring a laptop. Also let them install Organic Maps (OM) and do some navigation, share a GPX file and hike together. Record the track with OM.

Also hold regular meetups, maybe once a week, on a fixed time/place, it is very hard to remain momentum. There are many distractions here as the area is also well-known for its informal social networks and every week there is some “fiesta”. But to be honest, “distractions”, is not the right word: the local communities of both Spanish and non-Spanish blend well together, giving experience to a warm and richer social life than many of the big cities and coastal towns.

5. What steps could the global OpenStreetMap community take to help support local mapping like this?

Somehow to have a platform where smaller groups can gather, and where announcements can be made. The OSM-ES Telegram (OSM Forum is hardly used in Spain) group is very welcoming but overwhelming in messages in a single thread, especially to newcomers.

6. Last year OpenStreetMap celebrated 20 years. As someone who has been very active in OSM in many ways for a long time, where do you think the project will be in another 20 years?

That is a very tough question. What we now see is the advance of AI, often uncontrolled. For good and bad this will influence the way we will be mapping. Also the expanding effect of Overture Maps may be beneficial for OSM, but at the same time we need to hold on that OSM remains the central source/project. The last few months, at least within The Netherlands, there is an enormous movement to “Big Tech Alternatives”, like X to Mastodon etc. In this OSM is always touted as the alternative for the well-known proprietary providers with apps like Organic Maps, OSMAnd, MagicEarth. If folks figure out: “hey I can add stuff myself”, that may increase the number of mappers. At the same time, we already experience this in Open Source GitHub repos, often AI-driven “vandalism” should be guarded for. But overall, if the OSM Community sticks together, I foresee a bright future ahead!

Thank you, Just! Great work with the mapping and with the community building. Stay up to date on the project and Just by following him on Mastodon, or of course on the Alpumapa site.

Happy mapping,

Ed

Please let us know if your community would like to be part of our interview series here on our blog. If you are or know of someone we should interview, please get in touch, we’re always looking to promote people doing interesting things with open geo data.

Wednesday, 05. February 2025

OpenStreetMap User's Diaries

Panoramax in "OSM go" / 3D rendering

Panoramax is a rising star at the moment, for OSM, but not only; while Mapillary goes down, sold to Facebook. In my old www.OSMgo.org, the key P showed a Mapillary picture near the actual position in the 3D rendered OSM world. As the API is gone, I replaced it with Panoramax. OSMgo was abandoned by me years ago but the server is still running. As I read more and more about Panoramax, I decided t

Panoramax is a rising star at the moment, for OSM, but not only; while Mapillary goes down, sold to Facebook. In my old www.OSMgo.org, the key P showed a Mapillary picture near the actual position in the 3D rendered OSM world. As the API is gone, I replaced it with Panoramax. OSMgo was abandoned by me years ago but the server is still running. As I read more and more about Panoramax, I decided to dig out the old code and use it. First I asked in the Fediverse for help with the API and got a great and fast response, even a good example, thank you all!



There are almost to much pages about it. The real API was a bit hidden but well documented at last. The Idea of decentralised servers but a central directory is great, the Web-UI to see all pictures to. And the API got me a json list of the closest pictures, including a link to the pictures. After researching to define the radius (place_distance) and get the direction of the “shot” (feature.properties[“view:azimuth”]) my old Mapillary could be modified to show the picture in the 3D view and move the camera to see it.

Try it out

Panoramix picture of London Houses Of Parliament

You may note, the controls of OSMgo are nasty. The whole project is outdated and incomplete. I consider to redo it, may be in Rust or Zig; someone interested to join in? One missing feature in OSMgo is roof-types like gabled. There are more OSM 3D renderers and I started to investigate how they solve my obstacles. A compact one is this building viewer Example: US Capitol

Before I will start with a new code, I want to have a detailed definition of how 3D rendering is done in the open source projects: OSMBuilding, OSM2World, plugins for JOSM and Blender. Do you know more There are some points to talk about in the OSM forum, like how to render a dome or an onion, circular or according to the way nodes it is tagged in. The OSM Wiki may get more details/pages. With this knowledge, OSMgo could get some improvements to.

A rust crate may be the next goal. It would take an area of OSM data and create a 3D scene, rather simple or good looking will be controlled by options. That Scene could be send directly to the GPU or stored in GLT-file


Tuesday, 04. February 2025

OpenStreetMap User's Diaries

YouthMappers UFRJ faz balanço das principais realizações

– In English

Trajetória do YouthMappers UFRJ

O capítulo YouthMappers UFRJ é coordenado pela Profa. Dra. Raquel Dezidério Souto (em estágio pós-doutoral) e pelo Prof. Dr. Manoel Fernandes, ambos do Laboratório de Cartografia, da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (GeoCart-UFRJ), tendo sido constituído para desenvolver pesquisas em mapeamento colaborativo com OpenStreetMap e

– In English

Trajetória do YouthMappers UFRJ

youthmappers-logo

O capítulo YouthMappers UFRJ é coordenado pela Profa. Dra. Raquel Dezidério Souto (em estágio pós-doutoral) e pelo Prof. Dr. Manoel Fernandes, ambos do Laboratório de Cartografia, da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (GeoCart-UFRJ), tendo sido constituído para desenvolver pesquisas em mapeamento colaborativo com OpenStreetMap e programas relacionados, envolvendo a comunidade, com integrantes internos e externos à UFRJ, residentes no Brasil e no exterior.

A iniciativa faz parte da rede internacional YouthMappers, projeto de longo prazo e abrangência global, fundado por professoras das Universidades do Arizonas e do Texas, com o apoio do USAID (EUA). Atualmente, são mais de 400 grupos, em universidades públicas de todo o mundo.

A temática escolhida para início do desenvolvimento das atividades de mapeamento no estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil) é a redução dos riscos e desastres (RRD), com foco nas áreas de risco do estado. Outras temáticas, como o mapeamento de árvores, a avaliação das condições de habitações em áreas de especial interesse social ou o desenvolvimento de aplicações na Web, estão sendo contempladas por nós e nossos parceiros, ainda em estágio de desenvolvimento.

Nessa via, o capítulo YouthMappers UFRJ, em overview, visa desenvolver pesquisas, utilizando dados colaborativos e dados oficiais secundários, como meio de fornecer subsídio informacional para o estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), contribuindo para a tomada de decisão e outras finalidades. E contribuir para o desenvolvimento de outros capítulos YouthMappers no estado do Rio de Janeiro e em outros estados do Brasil.

O capítulo YouthMappers UFRJ faz parte do HUB YouthMappers Rio de Janeiro, consórcio dos capítulos da rede internacional, presentes no estado: UFRJ - UFRRJ - UERJ - UFF Niterói - UFF Campos (situação em: 31-01-2024), coordenado tecnicamente pelo IVIDES.orgⓇ.


🗺 Primeiro projeto de mapeamento: infraestrutura para RRD em áreas de risco do município de Maricá, RJ, Brasil

foto areas risco Maricá RJ Mapa das áreas de interesse (AOI) do projeto de mapeamento da infraestrutura para redução de riscos e desastres em Maricá, RJ Brasil. Dados © contribuidores(as) do OpenStreetMap. Áreas delimitadas pela Profa. Dra. Alessandra de Freitas (POLI-UFRJ).

Nosso primeiro projeto é voltado ao mapeamento da infraestrutura para redução de riscos e desastres (RRD) no município de Maricá (Rio de Janeiro, Brasil). O município vem sofrendo com episódios de enchentes, movimentos de massa e erosão costeira, devido à ocupação irregular, o avanço em áreas pouco adequadas para localização das moradias, além do aumento da frequência e da intensidade dos eventos desastrosos na região.

No projeto, são utilizadas estratégias colaborativas, como o mapeamento com OpenStreetMap e a criação de mapas Web interativos com uMap, um projeto francês que mantém uma plataforma aberta, on-line, para o desenvolvimento de mapas Web interativos, com hospedagem em nuvem. Sem cobrança de anuidade, sem pedido para incluir add-ons, sem rastreamento do seu IP… utilizando o uMap!


Em pouco tempo… resultados significativos


foto desafio com MapRoulette Captura de tela do MapRoulette. Dados © contribuidores(as) do OpenStreetMap.

Para apoiar tecnicamente o capítulo YouthMappers UFRJ, o Instituto Virtual para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável - IVIDES.orgⓇ está incumbido da elaboração de material pedagógico em mapeamento com OpenStreetMap e a realização de treinamentos, além da criação de projetos de mapeamento colaborativo, que permitem o controle das atividades, de modo que não haja mais de um(a) mapeador(a) na mesma área, a fim de preservar os dados, que não são corrompidos. Adicionalmente, os dados são validados, no mesmo projeto disponibilizado, podendo ser configurados níveis de acesso, segundo a experiência dos(as) mapeadores(as): iniciante, intermediário ou avançado, o que evita erros comumente cometidos por iniciantes.


💻 Curso de capacitação em mapeamento com OSM

foto mapa curso Captura do mapa do osm.org, com o Brasil no centro. Dados © contribuidores(as) do OpenStreetMap.

Um curso completo de Capacitação em mapeamento com OpenStreetMap foi realizado em agosto de 2023, sendo publicado on-line (para aumentar o acesso ao mesmo) e tornado curso de fluxo contínuo (entrada em qualquer época do ano), tendo alcançado 384 inscritos, até 31/01/2025, residentes no Brasil e em países do exterior. O curso permanece on-line, como plataforma de self learning, com a emissão de certificados, a cada seis meses, mediante avaliação satisfatória dos resultados enviados pelos participantes.


💻 Oficinas de mapeamento temático com OSM

captura osm.org mostrando cobertura vegetal Captura da tela do osm.org, mostrando a cobertura vegetal, mapeada no ambiente on-line. Dados © contribuidores(as) do OpenStreetMap.

Em 2024, foram promovidas oficinas de mapeamento temático com OpenStreetMap, on-line, cobrindo o mapeamento em diferentes temas, como pontos de interesse (POI), hidrografia, cobertura vegetal, feições relacionadas à RRD, além da preparação e importação de dados oficiais, em pequenos lotes, para o OSM.

Somados o número de participantes das oficinas temáticas ao público das oficinas avulsas - aquelas realizadas com grupos locais, em diversas universidades, públicas e privadas, no Brasil e no exterior (México e Moçambique), cerca de 700 certificados foram emitidos pelo IVIDES.orgⓇ!

Para saber como agendar uma oficina avulsa na sua organização, entre em contato com ivides@ivides.org.


🦒 Participação no State of the Map 2024

presentation SotM 2024 first slide presentation Primeira tela da breve comunicação, realizada no SotM 2024, Nairobi (Quênia), pela Dra. Raquel Dezidério Souto.

O projeto de mapa interativo desenvolvido com OSM, uMap e WordPress, para o mapeamento da infraestrutura para RRD no município de Maricá, RJ (Brasil), foi apresentado no State of the Map 2024, a principal conferência global da comunidade OpenStreetMap, realizada em Nairobi (Quênia), nessa edição.


Seminário científico pelo Rio Grande do Sul

post seminario rs © IVIDES.org

Em 2024, o Instituto IVIDES.orgⓇ conduziu o mapeamento colaborativo da região da bacia hidrográfica Taquari-Antas, Rio Grande do Sul (Brasil), como parte dos esforços brasileiros para produzir dados que apoiem nas fases de enfrentamento do desastre e de pós-desastre.

Para divulgar os resultados e promover o intercâmbio de informações entre os cientistas (todos com nível de doutorado), em setembro de 2024, o Instituto IVIDES.orgⓇ realizou o Seminário Científico pelo Rio Grande do Sul, em parceria com os capítulos YouthMappers UFRJ, UERGS e Unipampa; além do apoio do Wiki Movimento Brasil (WMB), na realização das transmissões ao vivo e no patrocínio dos brindes sorteados.

Na página do evento, encontrará os resultados do Seminário, em arquivos PDF e em vídeo, das palestras com professores de três universidades públicas do estado - UERGS, UFRGS e FURG. Ou diretamente na Wikimedia. E também, alguns mapas Web, que foram gerados rapidamente com uMap, a fim de apoiar as ações humanitárias e de governo, durante o desastre.


20 Anos de OpenStreetMap!

logo 20 anos osm © OpenStreetMap

O Instituto IVIDES.orgⓇ promoveu um evento para comemorar os 20 Anos de OpenStreetMap, em parceria com os capítulos do HUB YouthMappers Rio de Janeiro e apoio para a distribuição de brindes, da Tom Tom. Como parte da programação, foram realizadas cinco oficinas de mapeamento colaborativo com OpenStreetMap, com diversas temáticas, com a Unipar (Paraná), Unipampa (Rio Grande do Sul), COPPE-UFRJ (Rio de Janeiro) e UFF Campos (inauguração do capítulo YouthMappers da UFF, em Campos dos Goytacazes).


🌍 Conecte-se a esta iniciativa!

Para conhecer mais sobre o nosso trabalho, visite o portal do projeto YouthMappers UFRJ.

– Com informações da coordenação do YouthMappers UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, 01 de fevereiro de 2025. IVIDES.orgⓇ is a registered trademark. ivides@ivides.org | https://ivides.org/


youthmappers-logo

IVIDES_logo


YouthMappers UFRJ highlights main achievements

– Em Português

YouthMappers UFRJ Trajectory

The YouthMappers UFRJ is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Raquel Dezidério Souto (in post doctoral internship), and Prof. Dr. Manoel Fernandes, both from the Laboratory of Cartography, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (GeoCart-UFRJ, Brazil), and was set up to prepare new mappers and develop collaborative mapping research with Open

– Em Português

YouthMappers UFRJ Trajectory

youthmappers-logo

The YouthMappers UFRJ is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Raquel Dezidério Souto (in post doctoral internship), and Prof. Dr. Manoel Fernandes, both from the Laboratory of Cartography, of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (GeoCart-UFRJ, Brazil), and was set up to prepare new mappers and develop collaborative mapping research with OpenStreetMap and related programs, involving the community, with members from inside and outside UFRJ, residing in Brazil and in other countries.

The initiative is part of the international YouthMappers network, a project founded by professors from the Universities of Arizona and Texas, with sponsor and support of the USAID (USA). There are currently more than 400 groups in public universities around the world.

The theme chosen to begin the development of mapping activities in the state of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) is Disaster disaster reduction (DRR), with the risk areas in the state of Rio de Janeiro as areas of interest. Other themes, such as mapping trees, evaluation of housing conditions in areas of special social interest or developing web applications, are being considered by us and our partners, who are still at the development stage.

In this way, the YouthMappers UFRJ chapter aims to develop research using collaborative data and secondary official data, as a means of providing informational support for the state of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), contributing to decision-making and other purposes. And to contribute to the development of other YouthMappers chapters in the state of Rio de Janeiro and other states in Brazil.


🗺 The first collaborative mapping project: infrastructure for DRR in risk areas in the municipality of Maricá, RJ, Brazil

foto areas risco Maricá RJ Map of the areas of interest (AOI) of the infrastructure mapping project for disaster risk reduction in Maricá, RJ Brazil. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Areas delimited by Prof. Dr. Alessandra de Freitas (POLI-UFRJ).

Our initial collaborative project is focused on mapping infrastructure for disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the municipality of Maricá (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). The municipality has been suffering from episodes of flooding, landslides and coastal erosion, due to irregular occupation, spreading to areas that are unsuitable for housing, as well as an increase in the frequency and intensity of disastrous events in the region.

The project adopts collaborative techniques such as mapping with OpenStreetMap and interactive mapping with uMap, a French project that provides a platform for developing interactive web maps, free of charge and hosted in the cloud. It also makes its source code available. No annual fees, no requests for add-ons, no IP tracking… using uMap!


In a short time… significant results


MapRoulette screenshot MapRoulette screenshot. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

To provide technical support to the YouthMappers UFRJ chapter, the Virtual Institute for Sustainable Development - IVIDES.orgⓇ is preparing educational material on mapping with OpenStreetMap, carrying out training sessions, creating collaborative mapping projects, which allows the control of mapping activities, e.g., impeding more than one mapper editing the same area. This arrangement makes it possible to organize the tasks, and therefore the mapping project as a whole, and to preserve the data, which is not corrupted. In addition, the data can be validated, from the same project made available, and with the configuration of access levels, according with the mapper experience - beginner, intermediate, advanced mappers, avoiding mistakes commonly made by beginners.


💻 Mapping with OSM training course

foto mapa curso Captura do mapa do osm.org com Brasil ao centro. Dados © contribuidores(as) do OpenStreetMap.

A complete Mapping with OpenStreetMap training course was published in August 2023, having become a continuous flow course (entry at any time of the year), and having reached 384 participants (data 01/31/2025), residing in Brazil and other countries. The course remains online, as a self-learning platform, with certificates being issued every six months, based on an evaluation of the results of the participants.


💻 Thematic mapping workshops with OSM

captura osm.org mostrando cobertura vegetal osm.org screenshot, showing landcover features. Dados © contribuidores(as) do OpenStreetMap.

In 2024, thematic mapping workshops with OpenStreetMap were held online, covering the mapping of points of interest (POI), hydrography, landcover, features related to DRR, as well as importing official data into OSM.

Added to the participants of the thematic mapping workshops and the public of the individual workshops held with local groups at various public and private universities in Brazil and in other countries (Mexico and Mozambique), and nearly 700 certificates were issued by IVIDES.orgⓇ!

To find out how to schedule a one-day workshop at your organization, please,contact ivides@ivides.org.


🦒 Participation in the State of the Map 2024

presentation SotM 2024 first slide presentation First slide of the lightning talk, realized in the SotM 2024, Nairobi (Kenya), by Dra. Raquel Dezidério Souto.

The interactive map project, developed with OSM, uMap and WordPress, for mapping the infrastructure for DRR in the municipality of Maricá, RJ, Brazil, was presented during the State of the Map 2024, the main global conference of the OpenStreetMap community, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in this edition.


Scientific seminar for supporting Rio Grande do Sul

post seminario © IVIDES.org

In 2024, the IVIDES.orgⓇ conducted a collaborative mapping campaign for the Taquari-Antas River Basin Region (RS), as part of Brazil’s efforts to produce data to support disaster response.

In order to disseminate scientific results, in September 2024, the Institute promoted the Scientific Seminar for Rio Grande do Sul, in partnership with the chapters YouthMappers UFRJ, UERGS and Unipampa; and technical and gift support from Wiki Movimento Brasil (WMB).

On the event page, you’ll find the PDF and video files of the lectures with professors from three public universities in the State of Rio Grande do Sul - UERGS, UFRGS and FURG. Or directly on Wikimedia. Also, some Web maps were generated very quickly with uMap, in order to support humanitarian and government actions during the disaster and the post disaster activities.


20 Years of OpenStreetMap!

logo 20 years osm © OpenStreetMap

The IVIDES.orgⓇ held an event to celebrate 20 years of OpenStreetMap, in partnership with the HUB YouthMappers Rio de Janeiro and with the support of Tom Tom, for the distribution of gifts. As part of the Agenda, five workshops on collaborative mapping with OpenStreetMap were promoted, with different thematics, with partnership of the universities: Unipar (Paraná), Unipampa (Rio Grande do Sul), COPPE-UFRJ (Rio de Janeiro) and UFF Campos (inauguration of the UFF chapter in Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ).


🌍 Connect to this initiative!

To find out more about our work, visit the YouthMappers UFRJ project portal.

– With information from the coordination of YouthMappers UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, February 1st, 2025. Translated with Deepl (free version) and with human validation.
IVIDES.orgⓇ is a registered trademark. ivides@ivides.org | https://ivides.org/


youthmappers-logo

IVIDES_logo


The OSM Explorer

Using OpenStreetMap (OSM) and JOSM (Java OpenStreetMap Editor) has completely transformed my perspective on places in Ghana. What used to be just names on a map are now vibrant locations I explore, analyze, and contribute to in meaningful ways.

With each mapping session, I am a digital explorer, uncovering hidden details about my country. While tracing highways, POIs, buildings, and rive

Using OpenStreetMap (OSM) and JOSM (Java OpenStreetMap Editor) has completely transformed my perspective on places in Ghana. What used to be just names on a map are now vibrant locations I explore, analyze, and contribute to in meaningful ways.

With each mapping session, I am a digital explorer, uncovering hidden details about my country. While tracing highways, POIs, buildings, and rivers, to ensure that every corner of Ghana is well represented, I explore!. From the bustling streets of Accra to the serene landscapes of the Volta Region, my virtual travels take me everywhere without even leaving my seat.

As I explore and see places, I contribute data to solve real-world problems. Through OSM, I have contributed to flood risk assessments, improved accessibility to schools, and even helped emergency responders find critical locations. It’s amazing to know that my little edits can make a big difference in someone’s life.

Mapping is no longer just a hobby; it’s a passion, a responsibility, and a way to make a mark on the world.

One edit at a time! The journey continues!


Sperren

Die Praxis der Sperren-Festsetzung ist eine Farce!

Was an meinem Profil auffallen könnte, ist die Tatsache, dass ich schon mal gesperrt war. Der elektronische Pranger von OSM vergisst das nicht. Ob meine Strafen berechtigt waren oder nicht, darum soll es hier nicht gehen. Sondern darum, dass OSM zwar vieles gut macht, eine Sache aber wirklich schlecht: die Sperren. Die sprechen allen ansonsten

Die Praxis der Sperren-Festsetzung ist eine Farce!

Was an meinem Profil auffallen könnte, ist die Tatsache, dass ich schon mal gesperrt war. Der elektronische Pranger von OSM vergisst das nicht. Ob meine Strafen berechtigt waren oder nicht, darum soll es hier nicht gehen. Sondern darum, dass OSM zwar vieles gut macht, eine Sache aber wirklich schlecht: die Sperren. Die sprechen allen ansonsten hochgehaltenen Prinzipien wie Fairness, Transparenz, Teilhabe Hohn.

Sie werden frei nach Gusto von einzelnen Mitgliedern der sogenannten Data Working Group wie von einem deus ex machina ohne Anhörung der Beschuldigten, ohne Einspruchs- oder Verteidigungsmöglichkeit und ohne begründende Antwort auf eine Nachfrage verhängt.

Damit ist potentieller Willkür ein scheunengroßes Einfallstor geöffnet. Selbstherrlich wird zudem ein exponentielles Wachstum künftiger Strafen angedroht. Das hieße im realen Leben etwa, dass ein Dieb mit ein paar Vorstrafen bei der nächsten Tat, auch wenn er nur eine Flasche Schnaps hat mitgehen lassen, für Jahre in Haft käme. Justizterror als Modell der Abschreckung, wie man es aus autoritär regierten Staaten kennt. Als (untauglicher) Versuch der Herstellung einer Scheinlegitimität darf mithin die Verwendung des Personalpronomens im Plural (“wir”) durch einen Verantwortlichen in seinem “Urteil” gelten.

Natürlich ist das Vorgehen bei OSM in seinen Konsequenzen unvergleichlich mit demjenigen in den erwähnten Tyranneien. Aber das zugrunde liegende Denkmodell ist eben sehr ähnlich. Witzigerweise in meinem Fall angewandt von jemandem, der nach seinen Blog-Äußerungen ein Verfechter woker Kultur zu sein scheint.

Es ist und bleibt jedenfalls die undurchschaubare Festsetzung von Sperren und ihrer Länge ein dicker Schandfleck für OSM.

Wikipedia macht übrigens vor, wie so ein Prozedere viel demokratischer, inklusiver, transparenter, schlicht um Längen besser ablaufen kann!


\/\/ The Conscience of a Mapper /\/

Another one got ignored today, another road left unmapped, another place erased because it wasn’t profitable enough to exist on a corporate map. No one noticed, because no one was supposed to.

They don’t talk about the missing footpaths, the streets that don’t appear because they aren’t in a government database, the communities left invisible because they don’t generate

Another one got ignored today, another road left unmapped, another place erased because it wasn’t profitable enough to exist on a corporate map. No one noticed, because no one was supposed to.

They don’t talk about the missing footpaths, the streets that don’t appear because they aren’t in a government database, the communities left invisible because they don’t generate ad revenue. They don’t talk about how your map—your view of the world—is decided not by truth, but by business interests.

They call us idealists, hobbyists, dreamers. They say the world has already been mapped. But they are wrong.

We are the ones who see the gaps. We are the ones who refuse to let our neighborhoods, our histories, our stories be erased. We are the ones who put the world on the map—not for profit, but for people.

Yes, I am a mapper. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is refusing to accept a world where only what is profitable is visible. My crime is knowing that no company, no government, no algorithm should have the power to decide what exists.

You may ignore us. You may try to replace us with AI, to wall off geography behind paywalls, to tell people that their contributions don’t matter. But you can’t stop us all. Because the world is ours to map.

After all, we are all alike. We are OpenStreetMap.

🤣 with apologies ++The Mentor++ (8 January 1986). “The Conscience of a Hacker”. Phrack, Inc. 1 (7): 3 of 10 - wikipedia

Sunday, 02. February 2025

OpenStreetMap User's Diaries

Recap on Tour of the Netherlands

I’m back home! All the uploads done! Yeah!

Street-level imagery

As I had written about earlier, I was on tour with actually, to be precise, one of the bands I’m in under the title/ program “The Dubliners Experience” in the Netherlands from Jan 15th to Feb 1st. The GoPro Max was our constant companion on the roof of the tour bus. It covers mostly motorways and the areas around concert ven

I’m back home! All the uploads done! Yeah!

Street-level imagery

As I had written about earlier, I was on tour with actually, to be precise, one of the bands I’m in under the title/ program “The Dubliners Experience” in the Netherlands from Jan 15th to Feb 1st. The GoPro Max was our constant companion on the roof of the tour bus. It covers mostly motorways and the areas around concert venues, of course. I also walked around the campsite we stayed at (band life isn’t as glamorous as they make it out to be in the movies after all) with it, but that imagery is not super useful, I’m afraid. How much can you map in a fen, when there are not even leaves on the trees to map species…But still, the area got covered.

I was especially keen to upload to Panoramax, because the coverage was quite poor which does not mean to discredit the people who have already contributed, of course!

I’ll give you some before and after screenshots, some of which I had already shared on Mastodon yesterday.

Before I started, this was the situation in the Netherlands for both flat and 360° images. screenshot Panoramax Netherlands

And this was yesterday: screenshot Panoramax Netherlands 2025-02-01

This was the state of 360° coverage on Jan 14th 2025: screenshot Panoramax 360° Netherlands

And this yesterday: screenshot Panoramax 360° Netherlands 2025-02-01

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I tracked where we were going and what I had captured using OSMAnd, so I could prevent duplicate sequences. There are still some duplicates, because of the foggy conditions during the first week and because I didn’t want to risk the camera turning off while inactive on a long drive. OSMAnd screenshot with tracks marked

As I had mentioned in the previous diary post, I “lost” (i.e. deleted) sequences where the camera had tilted, because I did not know how to correct that. Stupid me. If anyone knows how to or knows of a tutorial, please comment. I don’t even know what to search for.

Mapping

While on the way to concert venues, I added a couple of notes along the way to be resolved after the show. Some were resolved by other people in an amazingly short time. So, dankewell you to those folks!

Thatched buildings

I have an interest in thatched buildings, so that was something I mapped being driven and walking using roof:material=thatch. I added a couple more last night, bringing the total to 101. While mapping that, I noticed that many of the buildings are not squared off. Is there any good reason for that? It made adding building:part=yes for roof:material=thatch a bit awkward. Of course, I also added a couple of missing buildings (mostly sheds or maybe car ports, hard to tell) which had not been covered in the last import by the Dutch mapping community.

Defibrillators

Around the theatres, quite a few defibrillators were missing, even though the mapping density of them in general seems to be good in the Netherlands. Many a time, I got OSMAnd out to map one only to find that it was already mapped. But maybe mappers don’t go to the theatre much, so it’s good I came along. I added 25 in total, some also just spotted from the band bus.

Backstage prefix

I continued on with the backstage prefix to map amenities (showers, washing machine etc) for artists found backstage. I don’t expect this to take off in general, but we map amenities for babies, wheelchair users , why not also this. I know it’s not easily verifiable, but there is no harm in doing it imho. And to be fair, I added nappy changing tables wherever I saw them. I made a point using every bathroom I could to survey that. ;-)

Loading ramps and artists’ entrances (name=artiesteningang) into the venues were also added to make it easier in the future to know where to go, because there are a lot of one-way systems and pedestrianized areas around the venues.

Obviously, I added missing shops, pubs, street lights, street cabinets, details on restaurants and whatever else I fancied.

I must say, I really appreciate always having a mission, so the waiting around doesn’t get too draining and you “force” yourself to explore your surroundings, if time permits. I wish I had had more time during daylight, because we mostly played in small towns which probably don’t get too much attention from mappers on a regular basis, but we usually arrived for soundcheck at 16:00 with the sun setting around 17:00, so it was quite limiting.

And I made it to #56 in the statistics for the Netherlands on neis-one!


Mapping forest landcover for West Virginia in 5 years

Hi OSM folks,

Yesterday I finished mapping West Virginia’s forest landcover for OSM in 5 years! It was a big project and definitely the next one will be a bigger one but because of that I’m gonna do it in a pace that I can maintain. If I have to stop, then I stop. Well, it’s just a hobby for me. As I announced on Mapping USA, I’m mapping Pennsylvania from now on. I’m really interested in

Hi OSM folks,

Yesterday I finished mapping West Virginia’s forest landcover for OSM in 5 years! It was a big project and definitely the next one will be a bigger one but because of that I’m gonna do it in a pace that I can maintain. If I have to stop, then I stop. Well, it’s just a hobby for me. As I announced on Mapping USA, I’m mapping Pennsylvania from now on. I’m really interested in the history of that state, The Keystone State.

And yes, I just wanted to try myself out how I could map forest landcover outside of Europe. It seems everyone seems hyped and I like this!

I’m not a robot so I can’t work on it 24/7 due to my personal life and I know i’m not making a 100% accurate landcover, but hey, I learnt some tricks which I’m taking advantage of! Sometimes I also criticise the quality I do but well people usually improve as time flies.

I’d like to thank everyone in the OSM community for giving me help and guidance, and I’m sure I’ll still have questions if it comes to specific areas. :)


weeklyOSM

weeklyOSM 758

23/01/2025-29/01/2025 railmap.gl [1] |, a Web map that shows railway operators for the North America. © MapLibre, © Three.js | map data © OpenStreetMap Contributors. Mapping The following two proposals are up for voting until Friday 14 February: pratictioners=* to tag the number and field of professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, or therapists, available at…

Continue reading 

23/01/2025-29/01/2025

    lead picture

    railmap.gl [1] |, a Web map that shows railway operators for the North America. © MapLibre, © Three.js | map data © OpenStreetMap Contributors.

Mapping

  • The following two proposals are up for voting until Friday 14 February:

    • pratictioners=* to tag the number and field of professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, or therapists, available at facilities such as clinics, legal offices, or wellness centres, aiming to enhance the mapping of professional services.
    • sensory_friendly=* to indicate if a feature provides sensory accessibility for people with sensory processing sensitivity and if there are designated sensory friendly hours.

Mapping campaigns

  • OSM France has organised a post-disaster mapping campaign (we reported earlier) to record the state of buildings in the area affected by Tropical Cyclone Chido, which struck in December 2024, reaching Mamoudzou’s coast, on Mayotte Island (Overseas France). Explanatory videos are available in the mapping instructions on the appropriate tags to be used, according to the level of visible damage to the building and the roof material. CNES/Airbus images are being used in this project.
  • Frederik Ramm, from Geofabrik, is looking for mappers to help with a potential contract for mapping public transport infrastructure in OpenStreetMap. The task involves transferring data from on-site station surveys into OSM using JOSM while considering aerial imagery and existing data. Work is expected to start around Easter and could last several months. Geofabrik is open to hiring full-time, part-time, or freelance contributors, either remotely or from their office in Karlsruhe. Interested individuals should reach out before they decide on bidding for the project.
  • Negreheb shared the progress being made on capturing Salzburg’s streets with 360° imagery for Mapillary and Panoramax. Challenges with route planning tools led to using OsmAnd for real-time GPX tracking and flexibility. They highlighted improvements using CLI tools for image uploads, ensuring efficiency and quality. Inspired by Detroit’s street coverage success, they aim to map all streets in Salzburg to improve OpenStreetMap and accessibility.

Community

  • Dzertanoj published a method for verification of the results of a transformation of data from NAD83 to WGS84.
  • While participating in Global Game Jam 2025, cyanohydr and their team developed ‘Bubble World Wanderer’, an OpenStreetMap-themed walking simulator web game.
  • JPinAR highlighted various aspects of cycling mapping in the US, stressing that several categories beyond urban and suburban commuting remain underrepresented. These include cyclo-cross, cross-country, BMX, pump tracks, and gravel riding.
  • Tex2002ans explained how to add fire hydrants and benches using the StreetComplete application.
  • Unique Mappers Network Nigeria, an NGO based in Port Harcourt has updated its website, where you can access projects, events, and more. A newsletter is also available.

OpenStreetMap Foundation

  • The OpenStreetMap Foundation has announced its 2025 public board meeting dates, starting on Thursday 30 January, with monthly public meetings hosted online. These sessions allow OSMF members to observe and participate during comment sections, providing transparency on board activities.

Local chapter news

  • The Swiss OpenStreetMap Association (SOSM) announced that Nine AG is a new colocation sponsor. As of December 2024, Nine AG is hosting one of SOSM’s servers in Zurich, following its relocation from Winterthur. This sponsorship helps SOSM maintain essential OpenStreetMap services, while their second server remains supported by Adfinis. SOSM expressed gratitude to both sponsors for their continued support.

Events

  • You are invited to share your ideas and session proposals for the 2025 State of the Map US, to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, 19 to 21 June. This year’s theme, Charting the Course, will celebrate OSM in mobility and look toward the next decade of OpenStreetMap US. The proposal deadline has been extended until Friday 14 February.

OSM research

  • HeiGIT has developed a pipeline to evaluate the completeness of OSM building data by comparing it to the Overture Maps database.
  • Pascal Neis explained how crime mapping research is being used to analyse spatial patterns in the occurrence of ATM explosion cases in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Maps

  • After 16 years, the osm-wms.de map service will go offline on Monday 31 March. Originally launched in 2009 to provide OpenStreetMap data in OGC WMS format, the service became less essential as GIS software evolved to support tile maps directly. The team at HeiGIT will now focus on making OSM data more accessible for humanitarian and climate action efforts. Users looking for alternatives can find suitable WMS and raster tile providers in the OpenStreetMap Wiki.
  • The dynamic maps published on the portal visitandorra.com, maintained by the public company Andorra Turisme, are made using OpenStreetMap and show information on activities, accommodation (hotels), and promotions. This is useful for those who are going to watch the competition in Andorra and you can even create a travel plan.

OSM in action

  • Ronnie Aldrin Silva has created a Voronoi map of European capitals, showing each capital’s area of influence based on geographical proximity.

Software

  • [1] railmapgl is working on an app focusing on the operators of railways, called railmap.gl. It uses MapLibre and Three.js. The map currently only covers North America.
  • Protomaps tooted about some updates, including a revamped website with hosted API and FAQ sections, Maputnik editor support for PMTiles in MapLibre, and a new CLI release (v1.24.1) enhancing PMTiles archive management. Additionally, a blog post outlined the design goals for the basemaps, discussing the foundation of an effective map design.
  • A new fork of the streets.gl website showcases OpenStreetMap data in 3D directly in the browser, now hosted with updated data by Alexandar Gyurov (GitHub). The site is accessible at streets-gl.onrender.com, improving upon the original project’s features, including rendering enhancements discussed in this pull request.

Releases

  • OpenCage is pleased to announce that its spreadsheet geocoding service has now entered public beta.
  • OSM2World version 0.4.0, an application for converting OpenStreetMap data into three-dimensional models, has been released.
  • Every Door 5.4 introduced a number of improvements, including better conflict processing on way uploads, over-zoom for Esri tiles, fixes for editing at extreme latitudes, and enhanced handling of fax and mobile fields. New features include cadastre imagery layers, updated presets, and support for Hebrew and Tamil.
  • Osmdiff version 0.5.0-beta.1 has been released, bringing improvements to testing, documentation, and configuration management.

Other “geo” things

  • The e-book Research and Education in Geography: challenges of a changing world , written in Brazilian Portuguese, is the result of the V Scientific Conference of the PPGG-UFRJ, held in 2024, at the UFRJ Science and Culture Forum , in Rio de Janeiro. The book is a sample of the research carried out by the programme, with reports from its postgraduate students and their advisors on various themes and areas of interest.
  • The proceedings of X SLBCH , the 10th Luso-Brazilian Symposium on Historical Cartography, have been published by the Faculty of Letters of the University of Porto.
  • Google Maps has changed its pricing model, which could increase the costs to developers using their APIs. Higher fees may push businesses and app developers to seek alternatives, potentially benefiting OpenStreetMap, as a free and open-source mapping solution. Companies looking to reduce expenses may migrate to other solutions including MapLibre or Leaflet, further strengthening the OSM ecosystem.
  • Dongdong Tian and others have published version 0.14.0 of PyGMT, updating the library for processing geospatial data and making publication-quality maps and figures. It provides a Pythonic interface to the Generic Mapping Tools (GMT), a command-line program widely used across the earth and planetary sciences and beyond. You can access the tutorials from the EGU22 PyGMT short course.
  • Yandex talked about the architecture of its geocoder, using deep learning to quickly adapt the existing Russian language version for other languages ​​in different countries.

Upcoming Events

    Where What Online When Country
    Salt Lake City OSM Utah Monthly Map Night 2025-02-05 flag
    Salzburg OSM Treffen Salzburg 2025-02-04 flag
    San Jose South Bay Map Night 2025-02-05 flag
    Missing Maps London: (Online) Mapathon [eng] 2025-02-04
    London London pub meet-up 2025-02-04 flag
    Stuttgart Stuttgarter OpenStreetMap-Treffen 2025-02-05 flag
    iD Community Chat 2025-02-05
    Montrouge Réunion des contributeurs de Montrouge et du Sud de Paris 2025-02-06 flag
    Guadalajara A Synesthete’s Atlas: Cartographic Improvisations between Eric Theise and Fernando Feria 2025-02-07 flag
    OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting 2025-02-07
    København OSMmapperCPH 2025-02-09 flag
    中正區 OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #73 2025-02-10 flag
    Meeting preparing the creation of the Catalan Association of the OSM 2025-02-11
    München Münchner OSM-Treffen 2025-02-12 flag
    Bochum Bochumer OSM-Treffen 2025-02-13 flag
    Moers I Love Free Software Day Community-Hackday vom 14. – 16. Februar 2025 im JuNo, Moers Repelen 2025-02-14 – 2025-02-16 flag
    Karlsruhe Karlsruhe Hack Weekend 2025-02-15 – 2025-02-16 flag
    東区 State of the Map Japan 2024 2025-02-14 flag
    Panoramax monthly international meeting 2025-02-17

    Note:
    If you like to see your event here, please put it into the OSM calendar. Only data which is there, will appear in weeklyOSM.

This weeklyOSM was produced by MarcoR, MatthiasMatthias, Raquel Dezidério Souto, Strubbl, TheSwavu, barefootstache, derFred, mcliquid.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue via this form and look forward to your contributions.


Sam Wilson

America's Cup Walk (part 1)

Fremantle
2025 February 2 (Sunday), 5:00PM
· OSM · Fremantle ·

I started surveying the America's Cup Walk plaques along Mews Road. There are fewer than I'd thought (ten so far), although I've not yet found a source that says how many there were originally (or when they were installed; I'm assuming it wasn't actually 1987, but maybe just a few years

Fremantle

· OSM · Fremantle ·

I started surveying the America's Cup Walk plaques along Mews Road. There are fewer than I'd thought (ten so far), although I've not yet found a source that says how many there were originally (or when they were installed; I'm assuming it wasn't actually 1987, but maybe just a few years later?).

[todo – photos]

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OpenStreetMap User's Diaries

Postřehy k mapám, kde je zatím co dohánět

Jak už jsem napsal dříve, tak k mapování mého města jsem se dostal z konkrétních důvodů.

Online mapa OSM byla tenkrát nedostatečně zakreslená a mnoho informací bylo zastaralých nebo chybějících. Trápilo mne to. Druhý důvod byl, že jsem se opakovaně setkával s návštěvníky a turisty, kteří něco hledali a na jejich mapě to nemohli najít. Neuměl jsem jim to rychle ukázat. Bylo to pořád doko

Jak už jsem napsal dříve, tak k mapování mého města jsem se dostal z konkrétních důvodů.

Online mapa OSM byla tenkrát nedostatečně zakreslená a mnoho informací bylo zastaralých nebo chybějících. Trápilo mne to. Druhý důvod byl, že jsem se opakovaně setkával s návštěvníky a turisty, kteří něco hledali a na jejich mapě to nemohli najít. Neuměl jsem jim to rychle ukázat. Bylo to pořád dokola.

Jiné mapy tu existovaly, ale kromě komerční varianty tištěných map, nebo mapových cedulí místního mapového vydavatele, nenabízely turistům dostatečně přesné informace. A to jsem chtěl zlepšit.

Rozhodl jsem se pro OSM.

Teď po několika letech by bylo fajn napsat, co se podle mé zkušenosti u uživatelů map změnilo a co ne. Nakonec pár slov, co by se dalo vylepšit.

Předně musím říci, že povědomí konkrétně o mapě OSM, je u bloudících turistů velmi slabé, protože znají a používají většinou jiné online mapy. Pokud je vůbec používají. Mají k tomu své důvody. Málokdy dokáží použít offline mapového klienta. Takže pro mapy musí mít aktivní datový tarif, což je pro cizince v ČR trochu drahá záležitost. A tak první co hledají, je free wifi.

Co dál víme

  • turisté rádi používají Google maps, protože jsou trvale přihlášeni k účtu přes svůj Android mobil. Proto mají nejblíž k Google Maps a vůbec je nenapadá, že by mohli používat jinou mapu. Fajn. Když jsou zvyklí dívat se na slepou mapu, která ukazuje svévolně jen to, co se jí chce ukázat od platících zákazníků, tak budiž jim přáno. Ti, co neplatí, tak na mapě vidět nebudou. To je byznysmodel v kostce.

  • anebo jsou z dalekých asijských zemí, kde by použili jejich mapy s jejich názvy míst, ale to se v Evropě moc nedá, tak druhou volbu zvolí Google Maps. Google před lety udělal silný marketing pro své produkty a těží z toho dodnes. Přestože se mnohé změnilo.

  • Znají a používají mapy Apple, což je podobný případ. Apple je nabízí v základním vybavení telefonů iPhone, včetně integrace do dalších služeb telefonu s iOS. Zajímavou drobností je, že Apple začal používat základní mapová data od OSM, protože jsou globálně nejdetailnější. Apple na tuto vrstvu pouze umísťuje své POI.

  • uživatelé automobilových navigací, tj, řidiči. Ve svých vozidlech mají integrované palubní počítače, které nabízejí buď vlastní navigaci (možná nějakou derivaci OSM přes podávané navigátory, nebo jiné zdroje) Nicméně auto-navigátor vyžaduje občas aktualizaci a tu řidiči někdy nedělají. Bez aktualizace základní mapy pak mnohdy nemá mapa přesné ulice, protože v ní prostě vůbec neexistují.

  • Uživatelé Waze jsou tací zvláštní uživatelé, kteří se začali stoprocentně spoléhat pouze na Waze a dávají přednost především jejím dopravním funkcím. V těch skutečně může Waze navigátor dobře pomoci, ale řidiči si pak neuvědomí, že navigátor nedokáže zprostředkovat mapové informace, které s dopravní navigací nesouvisí. Jenže na tom právě uživatelé Waze ztroskotají a vůbec neví proč. Waze jim to totiž neřekne.

  • Znají a používají Mapy.cz (jde především o Čechy, kteří Mapy.cz považují za jediné a nejlepší mapy) V Čechách Mapy.cz nabízí opravdu nejobsáhlejší mapová data, která pečlivě shromažďují, přibírají je i od jiných zdrojů (například zdroje studánek) a přidává ke geografii svůj obchodní model s komerčními objekty provázanými na Firmy.cz. Mezi námi, samozřejmě že Mapy.cz bývají někde i neaktuální. Nedokáží včas zachytit různé změny a stěhování firem, nebo dopravní situaci.

  • Naprostá většina uživatelů netuší, že za hranicemi ČR používají Mapy.cz mapová data od OSM, která jen vykreslují ve svém mapovém stylu. Uživatelé si tedy myslí, že Mapy.cz umí v Austrálii zobrazit každou pěšinku v trávě. Ano, umí to právě díky OSM.

Právě z výše zmíněných důvodů se lidé rychle dostanou do situace, že něco někde nemohou najít, nebo realita není úplně taková, jak si jí ve své mapě našli.

Co v mapách nenašli

  • proč nelze pár kroků přejít z této ulice do druhé ulice? No protože tudy žádná cesta nevede, je tam sráz, zeď a soukromá zahrada. Ale na mapě která takové věci ani nechce mít, to nikdy neobjeví.

  • proč na ulici není restaurace XYZ, kterou si našel v mapě? Protože už se dávno odstěhovala a vložený bod na mapě nezanesl majitel, ani žádný místní mapovač, ale označili ho nějací náhodní lidé, kteří už nikdy tento bod zájmu opravovat nebudou.

  • proč má podnik zavřeno? Protože nemusí mít otevřeno. Ale spíše je na místě se ptát, proč nemá bod na mapě viditelnou otevírací dobu, nebo odkaz na web firmy, která by poskytla dobrou odpověď.

  • jakto že je tato ulice neprůjezdná, nebo zavřená? To se stává většinou, když jde o místní dopravní omezení, které je přechodné v řádu měsíců. Přesto na ně žádná mapa typu Waze, Google, nebo Apple nedokáže včas zareagovat a data o průjezdnosti doplnit. Ale řidiči na svou navigaci spoléhají a pak jsou překvapeni.

O co se tedy zajímat?

  • kde jsou místní specifické body zájmu, které se na žádné mapě ani zaznamenat nedají. Například pěší průvodcovské trasy vedoucí cestou-necestou, propojující unikátní místní zajímavosti. To vědí právě místní průvodci a proto byste je měli následovat i bez mapy. Znají své město a krajinu opravdu dobře.

  • možná citlivě zaznamenat do mapy i prvky, které místo dělají specifickým a zajímavým. Mohou to být domovní znamení, drobné památky, nebo nekomerční komunitní centra, přírodovědné zajímavosti v otevřené krajině.

Závěrem

Přes prakticky nepozorovatelné používání aktuálních map OSM zahraniční i tuzemskou turistickou veřejností, si myslím, že u některých jiných uživatelů mají dobrý smysl. Vlastně jsem přesvědčen, že výborně slouží u lidem, kteří se na cestu neptají a svůj cíl cesty, nebo turistickou zajímavost naleznou sami, i díky dobré mapě.

Informační zkušenost s OSM se dá vylepšit zpřesňováním dat. Hodnotný výstup pak dostanou prakticky skrz nabídku různých uživatelských aplikací, i mobilních klientů, které data od OSM přebírají. Mohou to být navigátory pro automobily, cyklisty, běžce, i pěší turisty. Nikdo z uživatelů vlastně neřeší, odkud se mapová data berou, chtějí je pouze hned a přesná.

Český Krumlov, 2024

No a tak je mapuji a nelituji.

Saturday, 01. February 2025

OpenStreetMap User's Diaries

Menyemarakkan tulisan Arab Melayu

Penamaan Melayu

Kira-kira tag name:ms-Arab apakah harus sama dengan standar Bahasa Melayu Malaysia? masih bingung mau nambahin name:ms di tulisan-tulisan Arab Melayu di Pekanbaru, kaya danau kan di Bahasa Melayu Malaysia harusnya tasik ya, tapi overall lantak aja tulis Arab Melayu sesuai nama dalam B. Indonesia di Riau, kecuali memang ada nama lokalnya yang beda

Penamaan Melayu

Kira-kira tag name:ms-Arab apakah harus sama dengan standar Bahasa Melayu Malaysia? masih bingung mau nambahin name:ms di tulisan-tulisan Arab Melayu di Pekanbaru, kaya danau kan di Bahasa Melayu Malaysia harusnya tasik ya, tapi overall lantak aja tulis Arab Melayu sesuai nama dalam B. Indonesia di Riau, kecuali memang ada nama lokalnya yang beda