Kurnus

Doom Scrolling through aerial images of Canada revealed this to me:

And for a millisecond I wondered how this could be mapped. Maybe tourism=attraction? 🤪

Letztens beim Doom-Scrolling über die OSM-Karte in Oschersleben einen langen grünen Strich gesehen und gedacht, “okay, lange Hecke oder was?”

Oder wieder Vandalismus a.k.a. FCK.PTN?

Beim Editieren habe ich dann gesehen, dass jemand den Anfang der Hecke wohl versehentlich weit weg verschoben hat. Ich konnte die Hecke dann reparieren: osm.org/way/301454013

Being a YouthMapper?

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Willkommen im Outback-Lindlar!

Ab sofort ist das Outback-Lindlar (Klauserstraße 77 in 51789 Lindlar) auch auf OpenStreetMap präsent. Als gemütliches Themenrestaurant im Bergischen Land freuen wir uns über alle Gäste, Tourenfahrer und Biker, die bei uns einen Zwischenstopp einlegen.

Kommt vorbei auf gute Küche, erfrischende Drinks und eine tolle Atmosphäre. Schaut gerne rein!

My Google Summer of Code 2026 project was Category Support in Nominatim.

The goal was to replace Nominatim’s single class/type representation with a proper categories field so that one OSM object can carry multiple categories. For eg, an object tagged as both a hotel and a restaurant can now be represented in one row with categories such as:

osm.tourism.hotel
osm.amenity.restaurant

What was completed

• Added the PostgreSQL ltree[] categories column to the main Nominatim tables.
• Generated multiple categories from OSM tags during import while keeping the existing class and type fields for compatibility.
• Updated ranking, triggers, migrations, and related database logic to use categories.
• Replaced the old place_classtype_* search tables with category-based search using indexed queries.
• Removed the old place_classtype_* table creation and maintenance code.
• Added category filters to the search API.
• Updated the SQLite adaptor and tests for category data.
• Updated the documentation for the category system and its API behaviour.

Pull requests

• #4106: Add ltree categories column for multi-tag OSM object support - merged
• #4146: Use ltree categories column instead of place_classtype tables - merged
• #4163: Remove the place_classtype tables - merged
• #4164: Add category filters to the search API - merged
• #4166: Update the documentation for the category series - documentation PR

Querying by category

The search API can now accept category filters. For example:

/search?q=restaurant+Berlin&include=osm.amenity.restaurant
/search?q=Berlin&include=osm.amenity
/search?q=hotel+Berlin&include=osm.tourism.hotel&include=osm.amenity.restaurant
/search?q=restaurant+Berlin&exclude=osm.amenity.fast_food

A parent category such as osm.amenity can match categories below it, so a query can include restaurants, cafes, bars, and other amenities without listing every child category separately.

Acknowledgements

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I’ve just joined OpenStreetMap after using the CoMaps app for a month. I’ve been a frequent Google Maps Local Guide, but want to support open source efforts.

Today, I signed up and updated a shop that was labelled as disused to a cafe that recently opened local to me.

I need to vent for a minute.

Aligning aerial imagery terrifies me. I feel like no matter what I do, I will be off by a little bit. Whenever I come across a place where buildings are mapped and are a little bit off from the aerial imagery I’m using, I think to myself “I should probably align my imagery with those buildings,” but then I look at the primary road the buildings are right next to and realize that it is aligned with how my aerial imagery is right now. And then I see a cluster of features made 9+ years ago which is nowhere close to being aligned with my imagery and I question whether all of my contributions have been miles off of the correct location and if I’ve accidentally been vandalizing hundreds of places across Virginia without even knowing. But the worst feeling is when the same aerial imagery layer has its tiles slightly misaligned from the one right next to it, so I have to make the decision on which tile I should align all my changes with.

How can I achieve peace when it comes to aligning aerial imagery?

Viernes 28 de Agosto de 2026.

Se realizo:

1. Se modifica Vista Sur I a Villa Vista Sur I y se ubica en lugar que corresponde.

2. Se agrega Villas Vista Sur II, Villa Florencia 1-2-3-4-5 y Terrazas de Lourdes.

3. Se elimina Bosques de San Francisco Norte y Sur, a la par se agregan Villa Bosques de San Francisco I-II-III.

4. Se agrega Condominio José Gil de Castro.

5. Se agrega Condominio Escultor Samuel Román Rojas y se cambia nombre de vía a Calle 21 de Mayo.

6. Se agrega Población 21 de Mayo y se agrega Condominio Francia con sus vías.

7. Se mueve área de construcción y se agrega Condominio Santa Josefina y Condominio Don Nicolás Anich Asís.

GSoC 2026 with OpenStreetMap

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Routing through pedestrian areas in Valhalla

During this Google Summer of Code, I’ve solved a very common problem that pedestrian routers have by adding the feature to route through open pedestrian areas, such as squares, plazas, pedestrian zones… instead of routing around the perimeter.

It’s now merged and running on the full planet build. Where pedestrians used to be sent all the way around the perimeter, Valhalla now creates a path straight across it.

Before :

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Alam ko na hindi mahalaga ang ranggo at stats dito sa OSM

Alam mo kung ano ang matindi, Na dalawang buwan at isang linggo pa lang ang lumipas, mula nang nagsimula akong mag-ambag sa OpenStreetMap

Sa totoo lang, naniniwala akong isa ako sa pinakamabilis lumaking OSM contributors sa Pilipinas.

I plan to participate in State of the Map 2026 next week.

So, in preparation for it, I read the programme page on the SOTM 2026 website and manually picked out all the topics that I’m interested in.

I plan to use the list below as a guide to help me navigate the programme and decide which events I should attend.

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I know rankings and stats don’t matter here in OSM

You know what’s crazy, That It’s only been 2 months and 1 week, Since I started contributing in OpenStreetMap

For real, I genuinely think, I am one of the fastest growing OSM contributors in the Philippines.

Following the launch of the OSM Skeleton methodology (see this post, featured in weeklyOSM #836), I wanted to illustrate it with an example by resolving the main reports in an area of Senegal where the demo is currently being deployed.

At first, I thought about mapping the Koungheul department, but given the scale of the task, I ultimately settled for one of its arrondissements, Ida Mouride. Arrondissements are the third level of administration in Senegal, after regions and departments.

The small size and limited number of Skeleton reports in this district allowed me to complete the task in about fifteen sessions of my daily OSM mapping routine.

The initial situation as of July 31 was as follows, for the entire department:

And zooming in on Koungheul:

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Suite au lancement de la méthodologie OSM Skeleton (voir ce billet, repris dans hebdoOSM 836), j’ai voulu l’illustrer avec un exemple, en résolvant les principaux signalements sur une zone du Sénégal, où la démo est actuellement déployée.

J’ai pensé au départ faire le département de Koungheul, mais vu l’ampleur de la tâche, je me suis finalement contenté de l’un de ses arrondissements, celui d’Ida Mouride. Les arrondissements constituent le troisième échelon administratif du Sénégal, après les régions et les départements, arrondissements.

La petite taille et le nombre limité de signalements Skeleton que contient cet arrondissement m’ont permis d’en venir à bout en une quinzaine d’occurrences de ma petite séance quotidienne de cartographie dans OSM.

La situation de départ au 31 juillet était celle-ci, à l’échelle du département entier :

Et en zoomant sur Koungheul :

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I keep getting questions about multilingual names in OpenStreetMap, so I want to state my position clearly in one place.

I understand the OSM data-model argument: name:xx should normally represent a name that actually exists in that language, not simply a machine-generated translation. My mapping practice has evolved accordingly.

However, as a product person, I care primarily about the user experience.

A map is a product used by real people. If I travel to a country whose writing system I cannot read, a map that shows me only the local script may be technically pure but practically much less useful.

For example, an English-, Russian-, or Georgian-speaking traveller should not need to read Arabic, Chinese, Thai, or another unfamiliar script just to understand what street, station, church, village, or other place they are looking at.

There are several ways to solve this:

• verified names in the user’s language;
• standardized transliteration;
• localized rendering;
• automatic transliteration or translation at the application layer;
• sensible fallback rules when no localized name exists.

I do not particularly care which layer solves the problem.

What I care about is the outcome:

the user should be able to understand the map.

Database purity is useful when it improves data quality. It should not become an excuse for poor UX.

OpenStreetMap is a geographic database, but the value of that database ultimately comes from people being able to use it.

For OSM naming guidance, see:

• Names
• Multilingual names

This post also reflects the lessons I took from my earlier discussion about AI-assisted multilingual tagging. I no longer treat automatically generated translations as sufficient evidence that a name:xx exists.

But my broader position has not changed:

when data modelling and usability pull in different directions, I will keep advocating for a solution that gives users both accurate data and a usable map.

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Thanks to a note suggested adding a Via Crucis station, I checked how similar routes in Switzerland are mapped in OpenStreetMap.

OSM tags relations for these with worship=stations_of_the_cross (and type=route route=worship ).

These relations model outdoor paths, not stations located inside a single church building.

• They can be found in traditionally Catholic regions of Switzerland. The ones mapped in OSM are mainly in Ticino and the canton of Solothurn (Soleure).
• Traditionally there are 14 stations, sometimes 15 stations.
• The monuments at stations vary: stones, crosses, sculptures, shrines or chapels.
• Distances and ascent vary: The ones at Sant’Abbondio and Astano follow the walls of the churchyard, the one to Madonna del Sasso has an ascent of almost 200 m.
• Some paths are old (18th or 19th century), others are more recent.
• The state of preservation varies greatly.
• Many routes lead to a chapel.
• Some paths to chapels feature stations on other subjects. These have route=worship , but not worship=stations_of_the_cross .

RSI counts 54 in Italian-speaking Switzerland; the scope may not match OSM’s outdoor-route tagging. OSM has 10 Via Crucis in Ticino.

OSM has about 2000 wayside crosses and 1200 wayside “shrines” in Switzerland. Some could be part of Via Crucis that aren’t mapped yet.

Here is a short clip of the one above Biasca and a longer video about the one at Klingnau.

List

Here are a few mapped:

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好的關於這破電源我是非常生氣，一個貼牌電源把我一條記憶體打壞了，下次不用二手的了再用我是小狗。

反正這不是重點，壞了就壞了，誰不會壞嘛。but那個破回收場，明知道裡面都是銅線，還用廢鐵價跟我收，純把我當豬仔宰是吧，還只有十塊錢，十塊錢欸，掛社團我都至少還有一杯手搖，好歹也給我15 20我去買冰水喝，以後不去了，黑。

反正賣完我就嘎拉嘎拉的騎著我的破腳踏車四處閒晃了，三個小時大概騎了20公里吧，沒很累，但到底是誰會把鐵皮屋標廟宇啊，我想說我怎麼沒聽過埔里有這個廟，騎過去一看，還真的鐵皮屋，不過應該是別人家，這人真無聊。還有不知道誰把荒地裡標一個廟宇，我 跑進去被蚊子叮慘了。

今天主要是跑郊區，市區太多要標的了標不完，明天跑田裡的廟吧，車少也好騎。

I remember when I first heard about these traffic cameras this guy paid me to listen to apb and manually log the codes to later look up and learn. Thinking about it these people were dangerous but it was normal for me being a military brat who joined the Marines after high school. I reminded the highest ranking ones of my grandfather who served 30 years. I guess it stirred up emotions making them uncomfortable cause I was clueless of my early departure resulting me in an unforseen path unaligned with my preset destiny.

This contribution is what Google identified as alpr I have a pic of it is just amazing how it doesn’t catch the license plate of a vehicle sitting in the middle of the intersection to prove truth of the occasion. Truth shall set us free

Your life is only a see through I never wanted to be you my goal was to necessary to those who needed a new perspective to bring others from the darkness into the light to be abundant. While in the darkness no one tried to save me instead my heart was like a clothes line chopped up into millions of pieces. I answered to the calling of the darkness and won my right to be to be silent. I learned to dim my brightness to a dull roar to respect those imbedded in the deep roots. They know I veil from divine right always seemed to be an outcast. I fell in love with the people everyone of them are necessary. I can’t speak about a certainty to take place when the times right. I understand it’s necessary thanks for not making it scary. Realization of I’m crazy just like you I’ll be a very bitter taste to you. Don’t take something your not willing to part from.