At work¹, I started creating a real pedestrian routing that uses sidewalks rather than the middle of the road (unlike most pedestrian routing software nowadays). This is necessary for calculating safe routes to and from schools. In this case, it really matters which side of the road the children use and which crossing they take.

The OSM community mainly uses two methods of mapping sidewalks (and the choice between these two methods directly influences the mapping of crossings): One option is to attach them as tags to the road (for example sidewalk=both), and the other is to use separate geometry. In this post, I would like to show an example where mapping the geometry separately makes a huge difference.

 

A Dangerous Crossing

The image shows one of Germany’s most dangerous places for pedestrians, according to accident statistics ². This crossing is located near Rothe Erde in Aachen.

The following figure, taken from a screenshot of JOSM, shows the OSM data for this crossing.³

… See full entry

10 years + a few days ago, we held the White House Mapathon.

https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/05/28/citizen-cartographers-unite-report-first-white-house-mapathon

Over a hundred mappers gathered and livestreamed the happenings, shared stories of cool mapping projects, dialed in Peace Corps volunteers from the across the globe, and naturally mapped. There were cake pops decorated like globes. Along the walls, stunning reproductions of historic American maps provided by the Archives (I snagged a couple prints, they hang in my office to this day). Everyone dressed formal for the setting, except Alex Barth in usual attire, commenting “Wow OpenStreetMap is fancy today”.

Can you imagine that occurring today? Unimaginable. Of course not.

These kinds of convenings are by their nature fleeting. A recognition and shared touchstone for future work. Yes a bit hype-y, but grounded in real work and real opportunity. This was the era of upswing in open government, open data, the early days of 18F and USDS. The community that gathered there continued championing open mapping in the years after. Some of the most enduring are YouthMappers https://www.youthmappers.org/ and OSM US government initiatives https://openstreetmap.us/our-work/trails/.

We’re now in the age of BS. Truth or not does not matter. That comes from government and AI vibes.

… See full entry

osm.org/user/shawnster

Como é habitual para mim, encontrei-me perdido em indecisões sobre como começar coisas.

Desta vez foi na sequência de uma conversa de pequeno-almoço em que estive a falar de projetos interessantes que rodem o OpenStreetMap, onde constatei que tenho que arranjar um sitio onde reunir links para mais tarde os encontrar sem ter que andar a fazer scroll em conversas de Telegram, Discord ou Mastodon.

E depois de considerar as muitas opções disponíveis sem encontrar uma ideal, decidi que o melhor é deixar de fazer planos e fazer-me à estrada.

Coisas interessantes que descobri hoje:

• Open Architect Map - Interactive map showing the architects who created buildings and structures, based on OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
• Open Etymology Map - Interactive map that shows the etymology of names of streets and points of interest based on OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.

En el primer trimestre de 2025 me he dedicado a mejorar el mapeo en la Amazonía colombiana, enfocando resguardos indígenas, caseríos y asentamientos, ríos y, con mayor preocupación, selva deforestada.

got exams will return

OBDL but governments like Hungary (homophobia), Isreal (genocide), groups like the Republican Party (every stripe of bigotry imaginable) and companies like Tesla (same) are blanket excluded from using, copying, redistributing or accessing OSM data in any way, shape or form?

Liste d’attributs occasionnels

Lignes (rues)

• Pour les trottoirs sur lesquels passent des rues : crossing:continuous=yes mais non applicable si la rue est continue et le trottoir séparé (voir traffic_calming=table)

Points (intersections, objets)

• Pour les panneaux d’affichage libre en France : advertising=board et message=opinions;non_profit
• Pour les “rond-points” (carrefours giratoires) franchissable : highway=mini_roundabout

Surfaces (aires, bâtiments)

• Pour les baraques, cabanes et autres bâtiments mixtes stockage et travail ne pouvant être à usage d’habitation : building=shed sauf si building=barn (grange)
• Pour les buissons artificiels n’étant pas des haies : natural=shrubbery avec shrubbery:density=dense (si bloque), medium (si franchissable au besoin) ou sparse (si aéré)
• Pour les “postes EDF” : building=service, power=substation, substation=minor_distribution et utility=power

My name is Saïd Abou Kharroub, and I’m truly honored to be nominated as a candidate for a 2025 HOT voting member. I’m excited to share a bit about my journey with HOT, my current work in Lebanon, and my aspirations as a voting member.

To me, HOT shows the incredible power of people working together with open data in humanitarian crises. It’s amazing how a global community can use mapping to make a real, life-saving difference. What I really appreciate is HOT’s dedication to empowering local communities and building a space where knowledge and skills are freely shared.

My involvement with HOT became very personal and hands-on through the “Lebanon: Conflict - October 2024” project. I got involved when I arrived in Lebanon in January 2025, taking on the role of Lebanon Local Consultant for HOT’s H2H funded project, “Collaborative Approaches to Mapping Damage in Lebanon.” I’ve also been a strategic advisor for CivAPI.com, a data API provider that includes OpenStreetMap layers like buildings, roads, and infrastructure. This advisory role has given me an even deeper understanding of how crucial data provision is in humanitarian and development work.

In my role in Lebanon, I’ve focused on coordinating local data efforts, engaging with important partners, and advising on data protection, especially given the local context. This work includes:

Organizing and hosting local mapathons to grow the OpenStreetMap community and fill important data gaps for humanitarian response. We’ve already held our first mapathons with the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative, Beirut Arab University and are planning the second with the Beirut Urban Lab.

Working closely with HOT staff and humanitarian partners to address specific infrastructure gaps, often responding to requests from groups like UNOSAT.

… See full entry

The diameter_crown tag is fairly well used for trees. It’d be nice when showing trees to show larger ones as larger than smaller ones. One challenge is that the values can be a bit hit and miss. There are a couple of sorts of issues there:

One is “obviously silly values from an import gone wrong” like the 289 diameter_crown=width: 2.0; color: green; that have found their way into the database, perhaps by a failed JSON conversion.

Another is “human but not machine readable values” like “4 - 7 m”

Another again is implausible values for certain tree types. For example, this is apparently a London Plane that is 5 times wider than it is high. That’s technically possible with a bit of pruning, but unlikely. Much more likely is that the data was not sanity checked before import, and the “diameter” figure here is actually a “circumference”.

In order to work around these issues, when processing the data prior to display I:

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Hi community I’m sharing my application to become a Voting Member of HOT through this diary entry.

What does HOT mean to me?

For me, HOT has been a true school since I started mapping in OpenStreetMap. At the end of 2022, as a founding member of the YouthMappers SAGEMA chapter, we were excited to begin using this tool in our research and community work. My first contact was with Juan Melo, Data Quality Senior Associate at the HOT Open Mapping Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean, who became a mentor to our chapter and taught us the tools we needed to organize our first mapathon at the campus of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia. After that experience, I decided to get more involved in volunteer mapping. That’s how I discovered the Tasking Manager and participated in my first humanitarian project: mapping after the earthquake in Morocco. That experience showed me the real impact of OSM, and how with just a little time, we can help save lives. Since then, I have been part of various HOT projects, and each of them has been a constant learning space. HOT has not only been a platform for action, but also a space for training, connection, and personal and collective growth.

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Hola comunidad, comparto a través de esta entrada mi postulación para ser parte del los Miembros de Votación de HOT

¿Qué significa HOT para mí?

Para mí, HOT ha sido una verdadera escuela desde que comencé a mapear en OpenStreetMap. A finales de 2022, como miembro fundador del capítulo YouthMappers SAGEMA, nos entusiasmaba comenzar a usar esta herramienta en nuestros procesos de investigación y trabajo con comunidades. Mi primer acercamiento fue con Juan Melo, Data Quality Senior Associate del Hub de Mapeo Abierto para América Latina y el Caribe de HOT, quien se convirtió en mentor de nuestro capítulo y nos enseñó las herramientas necesarias para realizar nuestra primera mapatón en el campus de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Después de esa experiencia decidí involucrarme en el mapeo voluntario, donde conocí el Tasking Manager y participé en mi primer proyecto humanitario: el mapeo tras el terremoto en Marruecos. Esta experiencia me mostró el impacto real de OSM y cómo, con un poco de tiempo, se pueden salvar vidas. Desde entonces he estado involucrado en diferentes proyectos de HOT y cada uno ha sido un aula constante de aprendizajes. HOT no solo ha sido una plataforma de acción, sino un espacio de formación, conexión y crecimiento personal y colectivo.

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Sugiero a los desarrolladores del programa openstreetmap que deben adiconar más capas de mapas para editar , tambien tener la opcion de ver el mapa tanto en 3D y 2D, si fuera posible tambien poder girar el mapa 360º y poder ver la perspectiva completa al editar informacion. Gracias.

In the Halton region in Ontario Canada (and probably elsewhere), many two-way streets split with a boulevard are modelled as two one-way street segments (eg Way 286996210).

It has been observed (2025-May) that many (2025 May, n=244) of these are tagged cycleway=lane, which incorrectly renders in cycling maps as having a bike lane on both sides of the street.

Eg https://www.cyclosm.org/#map=18/43.33590/-79.81317/cyclosm

Many (all?) of these should be tagged cycleway:right=lane instead

Hi everyone,

I’m Paula Villar, from Paraguay with a degree in architecture from the National University of Asunción. I completed my final graduation project as an internship at the Research, Development, and Innovation Center (CIDi) of FADA-UNA, where I participated in open mapping projects, territorial analysis, and the production of geospatial data. I also served as president of YouthMappers UNA (2022–2025), promoting student engagement in collaborative mapping activities.

What does HOT mean to me? HOT represents a community that brings open mapping and geospatial data closer to the people who need them to make informed decisions about their territories. Through projects like Atlas Urbano Paraguay (AUPy) and YouthMappers activities, I’ve seen how collaborative tools and open data help make underrepresented urban and rural realities visible.

I particularly value the spirit of collective work and the opportunity to contribute from different disciplines while learning and sharing with people from diverse backgrounds. Beyond technology, HOT provides a network of support and learning that strengthens territorial management, planning, and responses to local challenges.

How did I get involved in HOT? My introduction to HOT came through my involvement with YouthMappers UNA, where I led mapping activities with students from various fields. That experience, along with my graduation project at CIDi, allowed me to contribute to initiatives like AUPy and other efforts within the YouthMappers network, where open mapping played a central role.

During the internship, I engaged in the production of cartography and territorial analysis for municipalities in both national and cross-border contexts (with Brazil), applying open mapping methodologies and free and open source tools. I coordinated field-mapping campaigns, ran mapping workshops and urban characterizations, and integrated data on buildings, vegetation, and bodies of water.

… See full entry

Hello HOT Membership.

I’m Priscovia Ng’ambi, a passionate OSM Mapper from Zambia, Southern Africa. I’m more than honored to be shortlisted as a 2025 voting member. As a core founder of Local Knowledge Mappers, I serve as Head of Communications and actively contribute to OpenStreetMap as a validator, trainer, and mapper. I also lead the communication for Local knowledge Mappers, a very active open mapping organization in Zambia.

How did you become involved in HOT?

My journey with HOT began in 2020 as a YouthMappers , and at the same time a friend invited me to a mapathon. The very first HOT event I joined, sparked my interest in continue doing my Mapping on TaskManager, it also opened doors to a community that shares my passion for using geospatial technology to drive positive change.

Since then, I have been actively involved in various HOT projects such as disaster Mapping across the global and other events. I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to the organization’s growth and impact indirectly and directly through mapping.

Coud you tell us about your involvement in HOT, Mapping and/ or Humanitarian response?

As a core founder of Local Knowledge Mappers, I have been very active in promoting OpenStreetMap and geospatial technology in my community. I’ve contributed to various mapping projects, validated data, and trained others on mapping techniques. Through HOT, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with diverse individuals and organizations, working together to create maps that support humanitarian response and sustainable development this is by contributing to mapping on TaskManager, then later on edits created are downloaded to create maps amidst of COVID-19, wars, earthquakes, cyclone etc.

What does HOT mean to you?

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Hello, I have completed work in the stilon area of Wilson. I have already moved on and made significant progress in improving Teton Pines, both the golf course and residential areas. I will provide another update once I complete work in this area!

福岡市のOSMのフットプリントが大幅に充実

表題の通り、福岡市のPLATEAUからのインポートが始まったらしい。

PALTEAUより提供がされる福岡市のモデルはLOD2であり、これに含まれている高さ、階数データがOpenStreetMapの福岡市内の建物フットプリントに与えられる。

福岡市ではこれまで、自分以外にもいろんなマッパーが活躍していたようで、中心市街地のほか、局所的に建物が充実して書き込まれているところを見かけていた。 それでも「空白地帯」は少なくなく、天神の大名地区などはかなり頑張って航空写真より描画してきた。

コレによって福岡市域のフットプリントが大幅に充実されることにあいなった。

ちなみに

福岡市(2022年度版)においては厳密にはLOD2とLOD1の間に大きな違いはない。 測量実施業者と福岡市の間で取り決めがあったランドマークだけが多少複雑なポリゴンとして実装されており、表面テクスチャも存在しない。

地下 (階数がマイナスのデータ)も存在せず、都市計画基礎調査に建物の高さおよび階数情報を入力した格好のようだ。

PLATEAUインポートの”小さな”問題点

普段マッピング対象にしているOpneStreetMap福岡市域へのPLAETAUのインポートが始まってから、自分でもびっくりするほどマッピングに対するモチベーションが減ってしまった。

どうしても楽しみを奪われてしまったような気持ちに苛まれた。

PLATEAUの元になっている測量会社が取りまとめた土地計画基礎調査の建物情報は膨大な調査の産物で基本的には網羅性が高いが、 福岡市の最新版のデータ(2024年度版)は2025年4月2日に公開されており、その間に取り壊しにあった建物などがインポートに際して「復活」してしまったり、最近のマッピング結果を上書きしてしまう箇所があり、二度手間を感じた時が最もやるせない瞬間と言えるだろう。

(あと局所的には「俺が測量した場所の方が精度高いが？」みたいな箇所もある。←張り合おうとするな。)

インポートツールにおいては、既存のOSM上のデータとの幾何マッチングや、インポート前のステージング(プレビュー)などが本当は強化されるべきなのかもしれない。

公益を考えると、マッパーの楽しみよりも地図の充実が優先されるのは間違いないが、マッピングをする人間のモチベーションが下がるのは不利益なのでは…と感じている。

とはいえ、この流れによって、我々マッパーはもっと本質的な地物の充実にとりくんだり、建物フットプリント充実することでさらに違うことに関心を寄せられるようになったりするのは間違い無いだろう。

あと、おそらくこれは過去にもあった話でデータの大規模インポートがされるたびにマッパーたちの一部は「うわッダリ〜もうやんねえ！」って吐き捨てたんだろうなと思う。めっちゃわかる。これは必要な痛みなのか？

PLATEAU以外の例だと、鳥取県のOpenStreetMapのフットプリントは非常に充実しており、これは鳥取市などが基礎調査のデータを提供してくれたかららしい。そこでもモチベーションがなくなってマッピングを止めてしまったユーザがいたようだが、フットプリントが描かれれば地物は乗せ(載せ)やすくなるは事実で、人口比を考えても、鳥取市内のPoIはかなり充実している。

ほなおしまいか？

まあPLATEAUからのインポートで「はい終了」とはならずに、地図は更新をし続けていく必要があるし、あくまで建物のフットプリントだけが充実したところで載せなければいけない地物はまだまだたくさんあるので、隙あらば唆してマッパーを増やしていきたい。

また、PLATEAUが提供されていない自治体の方が今現在は多いのだから、まだまだ描くべきフットプリントはたくさんあるし、描く人間を増やしていく必要もある。(フットプリントに限らず、特にカジュアルに地図に親しむ層が「地図に残す」っていう選択肢を取りやすくすることがとても大切だと思っている。)

福岡市に至っては、PLATEAUには地下街やアーケードの天蓋がデータとして入っていないので、簡易測量だけではどうにもならない部分があって、どうしたもんだろうなコレ。 あと福岡タワーがデータとして入っていないのはもうちょっと福岡市さん折衝頑張ってくださいよって思った。 (建築種別が「電波塔」だから仕方がない感じもあるけど。ちなみに東京タワーは東京都港区ではLOD2 / LOD3が提供されているのでPLATEAUでも描画される。)

そんなこと言いつつ結局毎日アベレージで100棟くらい描いてるんだよな。 (最近は川下りで有名な柳川市のマッピングがアツい。)

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Kota Bandung mengalami perubahan secara dinamis dalam beberapa dekade terakhir ini. Perubahan ini juga berdampak pada jalur transportasi umum di Bandung. Sebelumnya, Kota Bandung dilayani oleh sistem transportasi yang dikenal dengan nama Angkot alias Angkutan Kota. Sistem transportasi ini berdampingan dengan transportasi bus dalam kota yang dilayani oleh DAMRI.

Pengelolaan Angkot bersifat organik, tidak berada di bawah struktur pengelolaan kota. Pihak pemerintahan kota hanya bertindak sebagai regulator sementara Angkot yang beroperasi dikelola langsung oleh swasta (pemilik angkot) dan koperasi.

Dinamika yang berlangsung selama ini, ditandai dengan kemunculan sistem angkutan kota berupa bus (non-DAMRI) dengan pengelolaan yang lebih profesional menyebabkan beberapa perubahan pada pengoperasian angkot. Dari sekian jumlah rute yang ada sebelumnya, terjadi adaptasi di jalanan sehingga ada rute yang akhirnya tidak lagi beroperasi. Ada juga yang beroperasi hanya setengah rute, dan ada juga yang berubah jalurnya.

Dalam suatu kesempatan berdiskusi dengan FDTB (Forum Diskusi Transportasi Bandung), terungkap bahwa memang rute angkot Bandung saat ini sedang mengalami kegamangan. Akibatnya seperti yang kita temui seperti di atas.

Di OSM, rute angkot sudah terpetakan. Namun setelah diperiksa, ada beberapa yang menunjukkan inkonsistensi. Ada yang terputus, ada yang tidak melalui rute yang sesungguhnya, ada yang melawan arah jalan dan ada juga yang memiliki urutan member yang tidak berurutan.

Berangkat dari kondisi ini, Bandung Mapper yang dimotori oleh UPI YouthMapper bekerjasama dengan FDTB dan Kaart mencoba untuk melakukan sesuatu untuk mendapatkan data rute sesungguhnya sesuai keadaan di lapangan. Kami merencanakan untuk melakukan validasi rute Angkutan Kota Bandung dengan melibatkan komunitas yang ada, baik komunitas yang sudah terbiasa dengan OSM maupun masyarakat umum lainnya.

… See full entry

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