OpenStreetMap

2026-05-06T00:57:02Z

76.74.59.229: basic improved layout per sources and corrected details per standard format

{{Short description|Collaborative map database}}
{{About||Ordnance Survey maps|OS maps}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{infobox website
| name = OpenStreetMap
| logo = [[File:Openstreetmap logo.svg|150px]]
| screenshot = [[File:OpenStreetMap homepage 2020 en.png|border|240px|alt=]]
| caption = Homepage showing the [[world map]]
| products = Editable [[Geographic data and information|geographic data]], [[tiled web map]] layer
| url = {{official URL}}
| commercial = No
| registration = Required for contributors, not required for viewing
| language = 96 languages and variants<ref name="github-locales">{{Cite web |title=openstreetmap-website/config/locales at master |url=https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/tree/master/config/locales |access-date=30 September 2019 |via=GitHub |archive-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228222543/https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/tree/master/config/locales |url-status=live }}</ref>
| num_users = 10.6 million<ref>{{Cite web |title=OpenStreetMap Statistics |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/stats/data_stats.html |website=OpenStreetMap |publisher=OpenStreetMap Foundation |access-date=10 Nov 2023 |archive-date=13 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813223335/https://www.openstreetmap.org/stats/data_stats.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Registered users on openstreetmap.org. Actual number of users unknown; OSM data is used by other services, many of which do not report their usage data.</ref>
| content_license = [[Open Database License]]
| owner = [[OpenStreetMap Foundation]]
| author = [[Steve Coast]]
| country_of_origin = United Kingdom
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2004|8|9|df=yes}}{{Sfn|Foody|2017|p=38}}
| current_status = Active
| programming_language = [[Ruby (programming language)|Ruby]], [[JavaScript]]
}}

'''OpenStreetMap''' ('''OSM''') is a [[map database]] maintained by a community of volunteers via [[open collaboration]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haklay |first1=M. |last2=Weber |first2=P. |title=OpenStreetMap: User-Generated Street Maps |journal=IEEE Pervasive Computing |date=2008 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=12–18 |doi=10.1109/MPRV.2008.80|bibcode=2008IPCom...7d..12H |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/13849/ |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Contributors collect data from [[surveying|surveys]], trace from [[Aerial photography|aerial photo imagery]] or [[satellite imagery]], and import from other freely licensed [[geodata]] sources. OpenStreetMap is [[Free content|freely licensed]] under the [[Open Database License]] and is commonly used to make electronic [[map]]s, inform [[turn-by-turn navigation]], and assist in [[humanitarian aid]] and [[Data and information visualization|data visualisation]]. OpenStreetMap uses its own data model to store [[geographical feature]]s which can then be exported into other [[GIS file format]]s. The OpenStreetMap website itself is an [[Web mapping|online map]], geodata [[search engine]], and editor.

OpenStreetMap was created by [[Steve Coast]] in response to the [[Ordnance Survey]], the United Kingdom's national mapping agency, failing to release its data to the public under free licences in 2004. Initially, maps in OSM were created only via [[GPS tracking unit|GPS traces]], but it was quickly populated by importing [[public domain]] geographical data such as the U.S. [[Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing|TIGER]] and by tracing imagery as permitted by source. OpenStreetMap's adoption was accelerated by the development of supporting software and applications and [[Google Maps]]' 2012 introduction of pricing.

The database is hosted by the [[OpenStreetMap Foundation]], a non-profit organisation registered in [[England and Wales]], and is funded mostly via donations.

== History ==
[[File:Steve Coast - OSM im Rheinland (0604).jpg|thumb|left|OpenStreetMap was founded by [[Steve Coast]] in 2004.]]

[[Steve Coast]] founded the project in 2004 while attending [[University College London]], initially focusing on mapping the United Kingdom.{{Sfn|Foody|2017|p=38}} In the UK and elsewhere, government-run and tax-funded projects like the [[Ordnance Survey]] created massive [[Data set|datasets]] but declined to freely and widely distribute them. The first contribution was a street that Coast entered in December 2004 after cycling around [[Regent's Park]] in [[London]] with a [[GPS tracking unit]].<ref name="Fox 2012 Guardian">{{cite news|title=OpenStreetMap: 'It's the Wikipedia of maps'|first=Killian|last=Fox|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|date=18 February 2012|accessdate=12 September 2024|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2012/feb/18/openstreetmap-world-map-radicals}}</ref><ref name="Sinton 2016 DirectionsMag">{{cite magazine|title=OSM: The simple map that became a global movement|first=Diana|last=Sinton|magazine=Directions Magazine|date=6 April 2016|url=https://www.directionsmag.com/article/1163|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420144212/https://www.directionsmag.com/article/1163|archivedate=20 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="first edit mail list post">{{cite mailing list |last=Coast |first=Steve |title=First street entered |mailing-list=talk |date=11 December 2004 |url=https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2004-December/000158.html |publisher=OpenStreetMap |author-link=Steve Coast |accessdate=12 September 2024}}</ref> In April 2006, the [[OpenStreetMap Foundation]] was established to encourage the growth, development and distribution of free [[geospatial]] data and provide geospatial data for anybody to use and share.

In April 2007, [[Automotive Navigation Data]] (AND) donated a complete road data set for the [[Roads in the Netherlands|Netherlands]] and [[trunk road]] data for [[Roads in India|India]] and [[Roads in China|China]] to the project.<ref name="ogd-Coast3" /> By July 2007, when the first "State of the Map" (SotM) conference<ref name="sotm">{{Cite web |title=State of the Map |url=https://stateofthemap.org/ |access-date=13 August 2022 |website=stateofthemap.org |archive-date=7 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407051823/https://stateofthemap.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> was held, there were 9,000 registered users. In October 2007, OpenStreetMap completed the import of a [[United States Census Bureau|US Census]] [[Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing|TIGER]] road dataset.<ref name="linux" /> In December 2007, [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] became the first major organisation to use OpenStreetMap data on their main website.<ref name="geothought" /> Ways to import and export data have continued to grow – by 2008, the project developed tools to export OpenStreetMap data to power [[GPS tracking unit|portable GPS units]], replacing their existing [[Proprietary_software|proprietary]] and out-of-date maps.<ref name="systemed" /> In March 2008, two founders of CloudMade, a commercial company that uses OpenStreetMap data, announced that they had received [[venture capital]] funding of €2.4{{nbsp}}million.<ref>{{Cite press release |date=17 March 2008 |title=Open-source mapping company CloudMade raises €2.4 million in Series A financing round from Sunstone Capital |url=http://cloudmade.com/2008/03/20080317%20cloudmade%20press%20release.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109132506/http://cloudmade.com/2008/03/20080317%20cloudmade%20press%20release.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2012 |access-date=16 September 2022 }}</ref> In 2010, [[AOL]] launched an OSM-based version of [[MapQuest]] and committed ${{format price|1000000}} to increasing OSM's coverage of local communities for its [[Patch (website)|Patch]] website.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=AOL's MapQuest Embraces OpenStreetMap Data for the UK|first=Jeremy|last=Kirk|magazine=[[PC World]]|location=San Francisco|date=9 July 2010|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/507743/article-3399.html}}</ref>

In 2012, the launch of pricing for [[Google Maps]] led several prominent websites to switch from their service to OpenStreetMap and other competitors.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fossum |first=Mike |title=Websites Bypassing Google Maps Due to Fees |url=http://www.webpronews.com/websites-bypassing-google-maps-due-to-new-fees-2012-03 |access-date=13 November 2012 |date=20 March 2012 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103053046/http://www.webpronews.com/websites-bypassing-google-maps-due-to-new-fees-2012-03 |url-status=live }}</ref> Chief among these were Foursquare and [[Craigslist]], which adopted OpenStreetMap, and [[Apple, Inc.|Apple]], which ended a contract with Google and launched a self-built mapping platform using [[TomTom]] and OpenStreetMap data.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ingraham |first=Nathan |title=Apple using TomTom and OpenStreetMap data in iOS 6 Maps app |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/6/11/3078987/apple-tomtom-openstreemap-ios-6-maps-app |access-date=13 November 2012 |date=11 June 2012 |archive-date=17 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017115648/http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/11/3078987/apple-tomtom-openstreemap-ios-6-maps-app |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of 2025, [[TomTom]], [[Microsoft]], [[Esri]] and [[Meta Platforms|Meta]] are the highest-tier [[Corporate sponsorship|corporate sponsors]] of the [[OpenStreetMap Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corporate Members - OpenStreetMap Foundation |url=https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Corporate_Members |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=osmfoundation.org}}</ref>

== Content ==
The OSM project aims to collect data about stationary objects throughout the world, including [[infrastructure]] and other aspects of the [[built environment]], [[Point of interest|points of interest]], [[land use]] and [[land cover|cover]] classifications, and [[topography]]. Map features range in scale from international boundaries to hyperlocal details such as shops and [[street furniture]]. Although historically significant features and ongoing construction projects are routinely included in the database, the project's scope is limited to the present day, as opposed to the past or future.<ref name="Topf Ramm on the ground">{{cite conference|title=On the Ground|first1=Jochen|last1=Topf|first2=Frederik|last2=Ramm|conference=State of the Map 2024|location=Nairobi|publisher=OpenStreetMap Foundation|date=6 September 2024|accessdate=11 September 2024|url=https://2024.stateofthemap.org/sessions/V3FYDH/}}</ref>

=== Data structure ===
[[File:OpenStreetMap data primitives in iD.png|alt=see caption|thumb|Illustration of OpenStreetMap data primitives (nodes, ways and relations)]]

OSM's [[Data model (GIS)|data model]] differs markedly from that of a conventional GIS or [[Computer-aided design|CAD]] system. It is a [[topology|topological]] [[graph (discrete mathematics)|data structure]] without the formal concept of a layer, allowing thematically diverse data to commingle and interconnect. A [[Geographical feature|map feature]] or ''element'' is modelled as one of three [[geometric primitive]]s:<ref>{{cite journal|title=Dynamically Integrating OSM Data into a Borderland Database|first1=Xiaoguang|last1=Zhou|first2=Lu|last2=Zeng|first3=Yu|last3=Jiang|first4=Kaixuan|last4=Zhou|first5=Yijiang|last5=Zhao|journal=[[ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information]]|volume=4|issue=3|date=8 September 2015|pages=1707–1728|doi=10.3390/ijgi4031707|doi-access=free |bibcode=2015IJGI....4.1707Z }}</ref>{{sfn|Topf|2022|pp=3–6}}

* A ''node'' is a [[Point (geometry)|point]] with a [[geographic coordinate]] expressed in the [[WGS 84]] coordinate system. A standalone node represents a point of interest, such as a mountain peak.{{Sfn|Foody|2017|p=39}}
* A ''way'' is an ordered list of nodes that represents a [[polyline]] or [[polygon]], depending on its metadata and whether it forms a closed ring. A way can represent either a linear feature, such as a street or river, or an area, such as a forest, park, parking lot, or lake.{{Sfn|Foody|2017|p=39}} Multiple ways can share a node to represent a connection, for instance, a street intersection or a [[confluence]] of two rivers. The node itself can simultaneously represent another feature, for example, an entrance that connects a footway to a building. Until 2007, a way was formally composed of explicit ''[[Line segment|segment]]s'' between pairs of nodes.
* {{anchor|relation}}A ''relation'' is an ordered list of nodes, ways and other relations (together called ''members''). A relation can optionally specify the ''role'' of each of its members. Relations form complex geometries or represent abstract relationships among members. Examples include turn restrictions on roads, routes that span several existing ways (for instance, a long-distance motorway), and areas with holes.{{Sfn|Foody|2017|p=39}} Multiple relations can contain the same member to represent an overlap, for example, a [[Concurrency (road)|route concurrency]] or two adjoining political boundaries.
The OpenStreetMap data primitives are stored and processed in different formats. OpenStreetMap server uses [[PostgreSQL]] [[database]], with one [[Table (database)|table]] for each data primitive, with individual objects stored as [[Row (database)|rows]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=OpenStreetMap Wiki: Database |url=https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Database |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210113302/http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Database |archive-date=10 February 2015 |access-date=10 February 2015 |website=OpenStreetMap}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Databases and data access APIs |url=https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Databases_and_data_access_APIs |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018072509/https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Databases_and_data_access_APIs |archive-date=18 October 2017 |access-date=18 October 2017}}</ref>

The data structure is defined as part of the OSM API. The current version of the API, v0.6, was released in 2009. A 2023 study found that this version's changes to the relation data structure had the effect of reducing the total number of relations; however, it simultaneously lowered the barrier to creating new relations and spurred the application of relations to new use cases.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Arnold |first1=Laurin |last2=Hukal |first2=Philipp |date=6 May 2024 |title=The varying effects of standardisation on digital platform innovation: evidence from OpenStreetmap |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14479338.2024.2345319 |journal=[[Innovation (journal)|Innovation]] |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=417–442 |doi=10.1080/14479338.2024.2345319 |hdl-access=free |hdl=11250/3131589}}</ref>

=== "Any tags you like" ===
OSM manages metadata as a [[folksonomy]]. Each element contains [[name–value pair|key–value pairs]], called ''[[tag (metadata)|tags]]'', that identify and describe the feature.{{Sfn|Foody|2017|p=39}} A recommended [[Ontology (computer science)|ontology]] of map features (the meaning of ''tags'') is maintained on a wiki. New tagging schemes can always be proposed by a popular vote of a written proposal in OpenStreetMap wiki, however, there is no requirement to follow this process: editors are free to use any tags they like to describe a feature. There are over 89 million different kinds of tags in use as of June 2017.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mocnik |first1=Franz-Benjamin |last2=Zipf |first2=Alexander |last3=Raifer |first3=Martin |date=18 September 2017 |title=The OpenStreetMap folksonomy and its evolution |journal=Geo-spatial Information Science |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=219–230 |doi=10.1080/10095020.2017.1368193 |bibcode=2017GSIS...20..219M |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Coverage ===
{{expand section|date=September 2024}}

OpenStreetMap data has been favourably compared with proprietary datasources,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zielstra |first=Dennis |title=Comparing Shortest Paths Lengths of Free and Proprietary Data for Effective Pedestrian Routing in Street Networks |url=http://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/hochmair/pubs/TRR_zielstra_hochmair_2012_finaldraft.pdf |publisher=University of Florida, Geomatics Program |access-date=14 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215023804/http://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/hochmair/pubs/TRR_zielstra_hochmair_2012_finaldraft.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2012}}</ref> although {{as of|2009|lc=yes}} data quality varied across the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Haklay |first=M. |date=2010 |url=https://kfrichter.org/crowdsourcing-material/day1/haklay10.pdf |title=How good is volunteered geographical information? A comparative study of OpenStreetMap and Ordnance Survey datasets. |journal=Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=682–703 |doi=10.1068/b35097 |bibcode=2010EnPlB..37..682H |s2cid=301237 |access-date=7 July 2017 |archive-date=12 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412020050/https://kfrichter.org/crowdsourcing-material/day1/haklay10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Coleman |first=D. |date=2013 |chapter=Potential Contributions and Challenges of VGI for Conventional Topographic Base-Mapping Programs|editor-last=Sui|editor-first=D.|editor-last2=Elwood|editor-first2=S|editor-last3=Goodchild|editor-first3=M. |title=Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge: Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) in Theory and Practice |pages=245–264 |location=New York, London |publisher=Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht |isbn=978-94-007-4586-5 |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-4587-2}}</ref> A study in 2011 compared OSM data with [[TomTom]] for Germany. For car navigation TomTom has 9% more information, while for the entire street network, OSM has 27% more information.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Street Network Evolution of Crowdsourced Maps: OpenStreetMap in Germany 2007–2011 |journal=Future Internet |last1=Neis |first1=Pascal |last2=Zielstra |first2=Dennis |doi=10.3390/fi4010001 |last3=Zipf |first3=Alexander |date=2011 |volume=4 |pages=1–21 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2011, [[TriMet]], which serves the [[Portland metropolitan area, Oregon|Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area]], found that OSM's street data, consumed through the routing engine [[OpenTripPlanner]] and the search engine [[Apache Solr]], yields better results than analogous GIS datasets managed by local government agencies.<ref>{{cite report|title=The OpenTripPlanner Project|first=Bibiana|last=McHugh|publisher=TriMet|location=Portland, Oregon|date=August 31, 2011|page=36|accessdate=July 23, 2024|url=https://trimet.org/mod/docs/OTP%20Final%20Report%20-%20Metro%202009-2011%20RTO%20Grant.pdf#page=36|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609210459/https://trimet.org/mod/docs/OTP%20Final%20Report%20-%20Metro%202009-2011%20RTO%20Grant.pdf#page=36|archive-date=9 June 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2021 study compared the ''OpenStreetMap Carto'' style's symbology to that of the [[Soviet Union]]'s comprehensive [[Topographic Service of the Russian Armed Forces|military mapping programme]], finding that OSM matched the Soviet maps in coverage of some features such as road infrastructure but gave less prominence to the natural environment.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Soviet City Plans and OpenStreetMap: a comparative analysis|first1=Davis|last1=Martin|first2=Alexander J.|last2=Kent|journal=International Journal of Cartography|date=2023 |publisher=[[International Cartographic Association]]|volume=9|issue=1|pages=73–86|doi=10.1080/23729333.2022.2047396|bibcode=2023IJCar...9...73D |doi-access=free}}</ref>

A study from 2021 found the mean completeness of shop data in the [[Germany|German]] regions [[Baden-Württemberg]] and [[Saxony]] to be 88% and 82% respectively. Instead of comparing OSM data to other datasets, the authors looked at how the number of shops developed over time. They then determined the expected number of shops by estimating the saturation level.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Assessing shop completeness in OpenStreetMap for two federal states in Germany|first1=Josephine|last1=Brückner|first2=Moritz|last2=Schott|first3=Alexander|last3=Zipf|first4=Sven|last4=Lautenbach|journal=Agile: Giscience Series |date=4 June 2021|volume=2 |page=20 |doi=10.5194/agile-giss-2-20-2021 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021AGILE...2...20B }}</ref>

According to a 2024 study using [[PyPSA]], OSM has the most detailed and up-to-date publicly available coverage of the European high-voltage electrical grid, comparable to official data from the [[European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Modelling the high-voltage grid using open data for Europe and beyond|first1=Bobby|last1=Xiong|first2=Davide|last2=Fioriti|first3=Fabian|last3=Neumann|first4=Iegor|last4=Riepin|first5=Tom|last5=Brown|journal=Scientific Data |date=2025|volume=12 |issue=1 |page=277 |doi=10.1038/s41597-025-04550-7 |pmid=39956804 |pmc=11830763 |arxiv=2408.17178|bibcode=2025NatSD..12..277X }}</ref>

=== License ===
All data added to the project needs to have a licence compatible with the Open Data Commons [[Open Database License|Open Database Licence]] (ODbL). This can include out-of-copyright information, public domain or other licences. Software used in the production and presentation of OpenStreetMap data may have separate licensing terms.

OpenStreetMap data and derived tiles were originally published under the [[Creative Commons]] Attribution-ShareAlike licence (CC BY-SA) with the intention of promoting free use and redistribution of the data. In September 2012, the licence was changed to the ODbL in order to define its bearing on data rather than representation more specifically.<ref name="ogd-Fairhurst" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Licence – OpenStreetMap Foundation |url=https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Licence |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227094125/https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Licence |archive-date=27 February 2018 |access-date=27 February 2018 |website=wiki.osmfoundation.org}}</ref> As part of this relicensing process, some of the map data was removed from the public distribution. This included all data contributed by members that did not agree to the new licensing terms, as well as all subsequent edits to those affected objects. It also included any data contributed based on input data that was not compatible with the new terms.

Estimates suggested that over 97% of data would be retained globally, but certain regions would be affected more than others, such as in Australia where 24 to 84% of objects would be retained, depending on the type of object.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Poole |first=Simon |title=OSM V1 Objects ODbL acceptance statistics |url=http://odbl.poole.ch |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525193925/http://odbl.poole.ch/ |archive-date=25 May 2012 |access-date=21 May 2012}}</ref> Ultimately, more than 99% of the data was retained, with Australia and Poland being the countries most severely affected by the change.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Harry |title=Automated redactions complete |date=26 July 2012 |url=http://blog.osmfoundation.org/2012/07/26/automated-redactions-complete/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928131415/http://blog.osmfoundation.org/2012/07/26/automated-redactions-complete/ |archive-date=28 September 2012 |access-date=1 October 2012}}</ref> The license change and resulting deletions prompted a group of dissenting mappers to establish Free Open Street Map (FOSM), a [[Fork (software development)|fork]] of OSM that remained under the previous license.<ref>{{cite thesis|title=The Digital Commons: Escape from Capital?|first=Robin|last=Paulson|degree=Ph.D.|publisher=[[University of Auckland]]|date=2013|page=69|url=https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=39dcb8b37d1be0501338f7dd75a1ce1b490ffc7b#page=71}}</ref>

Map tiles provided by the OpenStreetMap project were licensed under [[Creative Commons license|CC-BY-SA-2.0]] until 1 August 2020. The ODbL license requires attribution to be attached to maps produced from OpenStreetMap data, but does not require that any particular license be applied to those maps. "©OpenStreetMap Contributors" with link to ODbL copyright page as attribution requirement is used on the site.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://blog.openstreetmap.org/2020/06/25/new-licence-for-the-standard-style-tiles-from-openstreetmap-org/ |title=New licence for the "standard style" tiles from openstreetmap.org |date=2020-06-25 |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=openstreetmap.org}}</ref>

=== Distribution ===
OSM publishes official [[database dump]]s of the entire "planet" for reuse on minutely and weekly intervals, formatted as [[XML]] or binary [[Protocol Buffers]]. Alternative third-party distributions provide access to OSM data in other formats or to more manageable subsets of the data. Geofabrik publishes extracts of the database in OSM and [[shapefile]] formats for individual countries and political subdivisions. [[Amazon Web Services]] publishes the planet on [[Amazon S3|S3]] for querying in [[Amazon Athena|Athena]].<ref>{{cite web|title=OpenStreetMap Public Data Set Now Available on AWS|publisher=Amazon Web Services|location=Seattle|date=5 June 2017|accessdate=17 September 2024|url=https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/06/openstreetmap-public-data-set-now-available-on-aws/}}</ref> As part of the [[QLever]] project, the [[University of Freiburg]] publishes [[Turtle (syntax)|Turtle]] dumps suitable for [[linked data]] systems.<ref>{{cite conference|title=An Efficient RDF Converter and SPARQL Endpoint for the Complete OpenStreetMap Data|first1=Hannah|last1=Bast|author1-link=Hannah Bast|first2=Patrick|last2=Brosi|first3=Johannes|last3=Kalmbach|first4=Axel|last4=Lehmann|conference=SIGSPATIAL|date=November 2–5, 2021|publisher=[[Association for Computing Machinery]]|location=Beijing|isbn=978-1-4503-8664-7|doi=10.1145/3474717.3484256|url=https://ad-publications.cs.uni-freiburg.de/SIGSPATIAL_osm2rdf_BBKL_2021.pdf}}</ref> From 2020 to 2024, [[Meta Platforms|Meta]] published the Daylight Map Distribution, which applied [[quality assurance]] processes and added some external datasets to OSM data to make it more production-ready.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sunsetting Daylight |url=https://daylightmap.org/2024/05/03/sunsetting-daylight.html |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=daylightmap.org}}</ref> OSM data also forms a major part of the [[Overture Maps Foundation]]'s dataset and commercial datasets from [[Mapbox]] and [[MapTiler]].<ref name="Schröder-Bergen">{{cite web|title=Google Maps and OpenStreetMap: The coexistence of two unequal siblings|first=Susanne|last=Schröder-Bergen|work=Geoawesome|date=12 June 2024|accessdate=12 September 2024|url=https://geoawesome.com/google-maps-and-openstreetmap-the-coexistence-of-two-unequal-siblings/}}</ref>

== Mapmaking ==

=== Data sources ===
[[File:Adding data to OSM after mapping Brighton Pier.jpg|thumb|Editing with [[JOSM]] after a ground survey]]
Map data is collected by ground survey, personal knowledge, digitizing from imagery, and government data. Ground survey data is collected by volunteers traditionally using tools such as a handheld GPS unit, a [[notebook]], [[digital camera]] and [[Dictation machine|voice recorder]].

Software applications on [[smartphone]]s (mobile devices) have made it easy for anybody to survey. The data is then entered into the OpenStreetMap database using a number of [[Programming tool|software tools]] including [[JOSM]], [[Potlatch (software)|Potlatch]], and Merkaator.<ref>
Jonathan Bennett.
[https://www.google.com/books/edition/OpenStreetMap/SZfqRcPXApoC "OpenStreetMap: Be Your Own Cartographer"].
2010.
{{ISBN|9781847197511}}
</ref><ref>
[https://merkaartor.be/ Merkaator]
</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Merkaartor - OpenStreetMap Wiki |url=https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Merkaartor |access-date=2024-07-20 |website=wiki.openstreetmap.org}}</ref>
Additionally, more recently apps such as [[StreetComplete]] offer "quests" to users in nearby vicinity, allowing them to add metadata to specific points of interest (such as, for example, the opening hours of a restaurant or whether or not a particular crosswalk has [[tactile paving]]).

[[Mapathon]] competition events are also held by local OpenStreetMap teams and by non-profit organisations and local governments to map a particular area.

The availability of aerial photography and other data from commercial and government sources has added important sources of data for manual editing and automated imports. Special processes are in place to handle automated imports and avoid legal and technical problems.

==== Surveys and personal knowledge ====
[[File:Motion X GPS and OSM.jpg|thumb|Surveying routes with a [[satellite navigation device]]]]

Ground surveys are performed by a mapper, [[Pedestrian|on foot]], [[bicycle]], or in a [[car]], [[motorcycle]], or [[boat]]. Map data is typically recorded on a [[GPS tracking unit|GPS unit]] or on a smart phone with mapping app; a common file format is [[GPS Exchange Format|GPX]].

Once the data has been collected, it is entered into the database by uploading it onto the project's website together with appropriate attribute data. As collecting and uploading data may be separated from editing objects, contribution to the project is possible without using a GPS unit, such as by using paper mapping.

Similar to users contributing data using a [[GPS tracking units|GPS unit]], corporations (e.g. Amazon) with large vehicle fleets may use telemetry data from the vehicles to contribute data to OpenStreetMap.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sarkar |first1=Dipto |last2=Anderson |first2=Jennings T. |title=Corporate editors in OpenStreetMap: Investigating co-editing patterns |journal=Transactions in GIS |date=June 2022 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=1879–1897 |doi=10.1111/tgis.12910|bibcode=2022TrGIS..26.1879S |s2cid=247178270 }}</ref>

Some committed contributors adopt the task of mapping whole towns and cities, or organising mapping parties to gather the support of others to complete a map area.

A large number of less-active users contributes corrections and small additions to the map.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

==== Satellite/Aerial images ====
[[Maxar Technologies|Maxar]],<ref name="digitalglobe"/> [[Bing (search engine)|Bing]],<ref name="bing"/> [[Esri|ESRI]], and [[Mapbox]] are some of the providers of aerial/[[Satellite imagery|satellite]] imagery which are used as a backdrop for map production.

[[Yahoo!]] (2006–2011),<ref name="ogd-Coast1" /><ref name="yahoo-maps-close" /> [[Bing (search engine)|Bing]] (2010 – present),<ref name="bing">{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.bing.com/maps/2010/11/23/bing-engages-open-maps-community |title=Bing engages open maps community |date=23 November 2010 |access-date=20 May 2016 |archive-date=4 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604045856/http://blogs.bing.com/maps/2010/11/23/bing-engages-open-maps-community |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Maxar Technologies|DigitalGlobe]] (2017<ref name="digitalglobe">{{Cite web|title=DigitalGlobe satellite imagery launch for OpenStreetMap|url=https://blog.maxar.com/earth-intelligence/2017/digitalglobe-satellite-imagery-launch-for-openstreetmap|access-date=12 March 2021|website=Maxar Blog|archive-date=6 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306044610/https://blog.maxar.com/earth-intelligence/2017/digitalglobe-satellite-imagery-launch-for-openstreetmap|url-status=live}}</ref>–2023<ref>{{cite web |title=Maxar imagery not working (was "Maxar is blurred in ID" and other similar topics) |url=https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/maxar-imagery-not-working-was-maxar-is-blurred-in-id-and-other-similar-topics/100524 |website=OpenStreetMap Community Forum |language=en |date=26 June 2023}}</ref>) allowed their [[aerial photography]], satellite imagery to be used as a backdrop for map production. For a period from 2009 to 2011, [[NearMap|NearMap Pty Ltd]] made their high-resolution PhotoMaps (of major Australian cities, plus some rural Australian areas) available under a [[CC BY-SA]] licence.<ref name="nearmap" />

==== Street-level image data ====
Data from several street-level image platforms are available as map data photo overlays. [[Streetside|Bing Streetside]] [[VR photography|360° image]] tracks, and the open and [[Crowdsourcing|crowdsourced]] [[Mapillary]] and [[KartaView]] platforms provide generally smartphone and [[dashcam]] images. Additionally, a Mapillary [[traffic sign]] data layer, a product of user-submitted images is also available.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Crowdsourcing Street View Imagery: A Comparison of Mapillary and OpenStreetCam|date=26 May 2020|journal= ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information|bibcode=2020IJGI....9..341M |last1=Mahabir |first1=Ron |last2=Schuchard |first2=Ross |last3=Crooks |first3=Andrew |last4=Croitoru |first4=Arie |last5=Stefanidis |first5=Anthony |volume=9 |issue=6 |page=341 |doi=10.3390/ijgi9060341 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==== Government data ====
Some government agencies have released official data on appropriate licences. This includes the United States, where works of the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]] are placed under [[public domain]]. In the United States, most roads originate from [[Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing|TIGER]] from the Census Bureau.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog855/node/798|title=2.2 Exploring TIGER and OSM Data|publisher=Penn State College|access-date=15 June 2022|archive-date=7 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807183312/https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog855/node/798|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Toponymy|Geographic names]] were initially sourced from [[Geographic Names Information System]], and some areas contain water features from the [[National Hydrography Dataset]]. In the UK, some [[Ordnance Survey]] [[Open data|OpenData]] is imported. In Canada [[Natural Resources Canada]]'s CanVec vector data and [[GeoBase (geospatial data)|GeoBase]] provide landcover and streets.<ref name="LicenseCopyrightOSM">{{cite web |title=Copyright and License |url=https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright |website=OpenStreetMap |access-date=1 August 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250801033910/https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright |archive-date=1 August 2025 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref>

Globally, OpenStreetMap initially used the prototype global shoreline from [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]. Due to it being oversimplified and crude, it has been mainly replaced by other government sources or manual tracing.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

[[List of countries' copyright length|Out-of-copyright]] maps can be good sources of information about features that do not change frequently. Copyright periods vary, but in the UK [[Crown copyright]] expires after 50 years and hence old Ordnance Survey maps can legally be used. A complete set of UK 1 inch/mile maps from the late 1940s and early 1950s has been collected, scanned, and is available online as a resource for contributors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ordnance Survey |url=https://maps.nls.uk/os/ |website=National Library of Scotland |access-date=26 December 2022 |archive-date=29 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229161108/https://maps.nls.uk/os/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Editing software===
[[File:StreetComplete - House number quest.png|thumb|upright|alt=A map with different colored icons on it, currently a quest about a house number|StreetComplete asking user a question. User filled in the answer. After tapping "OK" this answer will be added to an OpenStreetMap database.]]

The map data can be edited from a number of editing applications that provide aids including satellite and aerial imagery, street-level imagery, GPS traces, and photo and voice annotations.

By default, the official OSM website directs contributors to the Web-based [[iD (software)|iD]] editor.<ref name="theverge-osm">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/7/4306500/openstreetmap-id-editor-from-mapbox-launches |title=Can new OpenStreetMap editor use the crowd to beat Google Maps? |date=2013-05-07|first=Carl|last=Franzen |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=theverge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://knightfoundation.org/articles/collaborating-improve-openstreetmap-infrastructure |title=Collaborating to improve OpenStreetMap infrastructure |first=Alex |last=Barth |date=20 May 2013 |access-date=9 September 2017 |archive-date=9 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909190246/https://knightfoundation.org/articles/collaborating-improve-openstreetmap-infrastructure |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Meta Platforms|Meta]] developed a [[Fork (software development)|fork]] of this editor, Rapid, that provides access to external datasets, including some derived from [[machine learning]] detections.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mapwith.ai/|title=mapwith.ai|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=14 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614161149/https://mapwith.ai/|url-status=live}}</ref> For complex or large-scale changes, experienced users often turn to more powerful desktop editing applications such as [[JOSM]] and [[Potlatch (software)|Potlatch]].

Several mobile applications also edit OSM. Go Map!! and Vespucci are the primary full-featured editors for [[iOS]] and [[Android (operating system)|Android]], respectively. [[StreetComplete]] is an Android application designed for laypeople around a guided question-and-answer format. [[CoMaps]], Every Door, [[Maps.me]], [[Organic Maps]], and [[OsmAnd]] include basic functionality for editing points of interest.

Between 2018 and 2023, the top five editing tools by number of edits were JOSM, iD, StreetComplete, Rapid, and Potlatch.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://heigit.org/exploring-osm-editor-statistics-by-combining-data-from-oshdb-and-changeset-db/ |title=Exploring OSM editor statistics by combining data from OSHDB and changeset DB|publisher=[[Heidelberg Institute for Geoinformation Technology]]|date=1 August 2023|access-date=7 August 2023}}</ref>

===Quality assurance===
OSM accepts contributions from the general public. [[Changeset]]s submitted through editors and the OSM API immediately enter the database and are quickly published for reuse, without going through peer review beforehand. The API only validates changes for basic well-formedness, but not for topological or logical consistency or for adherence to community norms.

As a [[Crowdsourcing|crowdsourced]] project, OSM is susceptible to several forms of data [[vandalism]], including copyright infringement, graffiti, and spam.<ref name="Ballatore">{{cite journal|title=Defacing the Map: Cartographic Vandalism in the Digital Commons|first=Andrea|last=Ballatore|journal=[[The Cartographic Journal]]|volume=51|issue=3|date=5 May 2014|pages=214–224|doi=10.1179/1743277414Y.0000000085|arxiv=1404.3341 |bibcode=2014CartJ..51..214B |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/1743277414Y.0000000085}}</ref> Overall, vandalism accounts for an estimated 0.2% of edits to OSM, which is relatively low compared to [[vandalism on Wikipedia]]. Members of the community detect and fix most unintentional errors and vandalism promptly,<ref name="Levente">{{cite journal|title=Cartographic Vandalism in the Era of Location-Based Games—The Case of OpenStreetMap and Pokémon GO|first1=Levente|last1=Juhász|first2=Tessio|last2=Novack|first3=Hartwig H.|last3=Hochmair|first4=Sen|last4=Qiao|journal=[[ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information]]|volume=9|issue=4|date=March 26, 2020|page=197|doi=10.3390/ijgi9040197|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020IJGI....9..197J }}</ref> by monitoring the slippy map and [[Changelog|revision history]] on the main website, as well as by searching for issues using tools like OSMCha, OSM Inspector, and Osmose. In addition to community vigilance, the [[OpenStreetMap Foundation]]'s Data Working Group and a group of administrators are responsible for responding to vandals.<ref name="Ballatore" /> {{As of|2022}}, a comprehensive security assessment of the OSM data model has yet to take place.{{sfn|Topf|2022|p=20}}

There have been several high-profile incidents of vandalism and other errors in OSM:

* In 2012, contractors affiliated with [[Google]] were found to be sabotaging OSM's navigation data in major cities around the world. Google responded by dismissing the contractors.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-01-18 |title=Google Blames Rogue Contractors For OpenStreetMap Sabotage |url=https://www.slashgear.com/google-blames-rogue-contractors-for-openstreetmap-sabotage-18209666/ |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=SlashGear |language=en-US |archive-date=25 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525144712/https://www.slashgear.com/google-blames-rogue-contractors-for-openstreetmap-sabotage-18209666/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 2018, a vandal renamed [[New York City]] and some nearby map features to [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] names. Although the vandalism was quickly expunged, third-party [[Replication (computing)|replication]] [[Latency (engineering)|lag]] caused it to resurface to readers of [[Wikipedia]], as well as to users of [[Mapbox]]-powered applications such as [[Zillow]], [[Snapchat]], and [[Citibike]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Data vandal changes name of New York City to "Jewtropolis" across multiple apps [Updated]|first=Sean|last=Gallagher|work=[[Ars Technica]]|publisher=Condé Nast|date=30 August 2018|accessdate=11 September 2024|url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/08/data-vandal-changes-name-of-new-york-city-to-jewtropolis-across-multiple-apps/}}</ref>
* In 2020, ''[[Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020 video game)|Microsoft Flight Simulator]]'' players discovered an impossibly thin, 212-story building in a [[Melbourne]] suburb, which was traced to a [[typographical error]] that had gone unnoticed in OSM for a year.<ref>{{cite news|title=Microsoft Flight Simulator's mysterious Melbourne 212-storey skyscraper: is it a tower, is it a pole, is it a typo?|first=Josh|last=Taylor|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=20 August 2020|accessdate=12 September 2024|url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2020/aug/21/melbourne-fawkner-suburbia-users-poke-fun-at-microsoft-flight-simulator-glitches}}</ref><ref name="Verge Warren">{{cite news|title=An innocent typo led to a giant 212-story obelisk in Microsoft Flight Simulator|first=Tom|last=Warren|work=[[The Verge]]|location=New York City|date=21 August 2020|accessdate=12 September 2024|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/21/21395084/microsoft-flight-simulator-melbourne-obelish-openstreetmap-bing-maps-data-glitch}}</ref>
* In 2021, Balad, an Iranian developer of OSM-based mobile navigation applications, apologized after the OSM community caught an employee vandalising streets in Iran.<ref name="ZoomIT">{{Cite web |date=2021-07-05 |title=آیا مسیریاب بلد به‌طور عامدانه و سیستماتیک در نقشه‌های OSM خرابکاری می‌کند؟ (بروزرسانی) |url=https://www.zoomit.ir/tech-iran/372281-balad-open-street-map-saudi-arabia-sabotage/ |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=زومیت |language=fa |archive-date=25 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525144715/https://www.zoomit.ir/tech-iran/372281-balad-open-street-map-saudi-arabia-sabotage/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 2023, the [[Taj Mahal]] was misidentified as "Shiva Kshetra (Shiv Mandir)" (a [[Hindu temple]] dedicated to [[Shiva]]) for 13 days until contributors from Kerala discovered and fixed it.<ref>{{cite news|title='Taj Mahal' marked wrong as 'Shiva Kshetra' on Open Street Map; corrected|work=[[Mathrubhumi]]|location=Kerala|date=29 June 2023|accessdate=15 September 2024|url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/india/taj-mahal-temporarily-misidentified-as-shiva-kshetra-on-openstreetmap-1.8685704}}</ref>

Players of ''[[Pokémon Go]]'' have been known to vandalize OSM, one of the game's map data sources, to manipulate gameplay. However, this vandalism is casual, rarely sustained, and it is predictable based on the mechanics of the game.<ref name="Levente" />

==Community==
[[File:Guagua ESSC-OSMPH Training field survey.jpg|thumb|Field survey in various parts of the [[Guagua]] by a group of mappers. They took notes and photos, and recorded GPS tracks. Shown in the photo is the Betis group standing beside one of the [[List of memorials to Bataan Death March victims|Death March trail monuments]].]]
The project has a geographically diverse user-base, due to emphasis of local knowledge and "on-the-ground" situation in the process of data collection.<ref>[[openstreetmap:How We Map|How we map]], wiki.openstreetmap.org, retrieved 1 August 2021.</ref> Many early contributors were [[Bicycle|cyclists]] who survey with and for other cyclists, charting [[Bikeway|cycleroutes]] and navigable [[trail]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Key and More Info |url=http://www.opencyclemap.org/docs/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114195520/http://www.opencyclemap.org/docs/ |archive-date=14 November 2012 |access-date=17 November 2012 |publisher=OpenCycleMap}}</ref> Others are [[Geographic Information System|GIS]] professionals. Contributors are predominately men, with only 3–5% being women.<ref>"Gender and Experience-Related Motivators for Contributing to OpenStreetMap". https://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_218905.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181113104058/https://publik.tuwien.ac.at/files/PubDat_218905.pdf|date=13 November 2018}}</ref>

By August 2008, shortly after the second The State of the Map conference was held, there were over 50,000 registered contributors; by March 2009, there were 100,000 and by the end of 2009 the figure was nearly 200,000. In April 2012, OpenStreetMap cleared 600,000 registered contributors.<ref name="osm-wiki-stats" /> On 6 January 2013, OpenStreetMap reached one million registered users.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Harry |title=1 million OpenStreetMappers |url=http://opengeodata.org/1-million-openstreetmappers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111224742/http://opengeodata.org/1-million-openstreetmappers |archive-date=11 January 2013 |access-date=7 January 2013 |work=OpenGeoData|date=6 January 2013 }}</ref> Around 30% of users have contributed at least one point to the OpenStreetMap database.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Neis |first=Pascal |title=The OpenStreetMap Contributors Map aka Who's around me? |date=6 January 2013 |url=http://neis-one.org/2013/01/oooc/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111051345/http://neis-one.org/2013/01/oooc/ |archive-date=11 January 2013 |access-date=7 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=OSMstats - Statistics of the free wiki world map |url=https://osmstats.neis-one.org/?item=members |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808205903/http://osmstats.neis-one.org/?item=members |archive-date=8 August 2020 |access-date=5 September 2020 |website=osmstats.neis-one.org}}</ref>

As per a study conducted in 2011, only 38% of members carried out at least one edit and only 5% of members created more than 1000 nodes. Most members are in Europe (72%).<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Analyzing the Contributor Activity of a Volunteered Geographic Information Project — The Case of OpenStreetMap |journal= ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information|last1=Neis |first1=Pascal |last2=Zipf |first2=Alexander |doi=10.3390/ijgi1020146 |year=2012 |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=146–165 |bibcode=2012IJGI....1..146N |doi-access=free }}</ref> According to another study, when a competing maps platform is launched, OSM attracts fewer new contributors and pre-existing contributors increase their level of contribution possibly driven by their ideological attachment to the platform. Overall, there is a negative effect on the quantum of contributions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6232322165ae714579213636/t/6359a999dc3cc409cb2d5941/1666820507503/how-competition-affects-contributions-to-open-source-platforms.pdf |title=How Competition Affects Contributions to Open Source Platforms: Evidence from OpenStreetMap and Google Maps |last1=Nagaraj |first1=Abhishek |last2=Piezunka |first2=Henning |year=2020}}</ref>

=== Commercial contributors ===
Some companies freely license satellite/aerial/street imagery sources from which OpenStreetMap contributors trace roads and features, while other companies make data available for importing map data. [[Automotive Navigation Data]] (AND) provided a complete road data set for Netherlands and trunk roads data for China and India. [[Amazon Logistics]] uses OpenStreetMap for navigation and has a team which revises the map based on GPS traces and feedback from its drivers.<ref name="Bloomberg 2021">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-19/openstreetmap-charts-a-controversial-new-direction|first=Corey|last=Dickinson|title=OpenStreetMap Charts a Controversial New Direction: Inside the 'Wikipedia of Maps,' Tensions Grow Over Corporate Influence|work=Bloomberg|date=19 February 2021|access-date=20 May 2021|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520212343/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-19/openstreetmap-charts-a-controversial-new-direction|url-status=live}}</ref> In eight Southeast Asian countries, [[Grab Holdings|Grab]] has contributed more than {{convert|800000|km}} of roads based on drivers' GPS traces, including many narrow alleyways that are missing from other mapping platforms.<ref name="ROW Anindya">{{cite magazine|title=Grab built its own map in Southeast Asia, and is now going after Google|first=Michelle|last=Anindya|magazine=[[Rest of World]]|location=New York City|date=13 November 2024|accessdate=13 November 2024|url=https://restofworld.org/2024/grab-google-maps-southeast-asia/}}</ref> [[eCourier]] also contributes its drivers' GPS traces to OSM.

According to a study, about 17% of road kilometers were last touched by corporate teams in March 2020.<ref>{{cite video |date=5 July 2020 |title=Curious Cases of Corporations in OpenStreetMap |url=https://2020.stateofthemap.org/sessions/SPRQVZ/ |publisher=State of the Map |language=en |accessdate=20 October 2024}}</ref> The top 13 corporate contributors during 2014–2020 include Apple, Kaart, Amazon, Facebook, Mapbox, Digital Egypt, Grab, Microsoft, Telenav, Developmentseed, Uber, Lightcyphers and Lyft.<ref name="Bloomberg 2021"/>

According to OpenStreetMap Statistics, the over all percentage of edits from corporations peaked at about 10% in 2020 and 2021 and has since fallen to about 2-3% in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://piebro.github.io/openstreetmap-statistics/#7034 |title=OpenStreetMap Statistics - Corporations |access-date=20 October 2024}}</ref>

===Non-governmental organisations===
[[File:Jinoy Tom Jacob, Open Data Kerala.webm|thumb|'''An NGO Contributes to Kerala Maps - Based on  Open Street Maps & Wikivoyage''']]
{{Anchor|HOT}}Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is a nonprofit organisation promoting community mapping across the world. It developed the open source HOT Tasking Manager for collaboration, and contributed to mapping efforts after the [[April 2015 Nepal earthquake]], the [[2016 Kumamoto earthquakes]], and the [[2016 Ecuador earthquake]]. The [[Missing Maps]] Project, founded by the American Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and other NGOs, uses HOT Tasking Manager. The [[University of Heidelberg]] hosts the Disastermappers Project for training university students in mapping for humanitarian purposes. When [[Western African Ebola virus epidemic|Ebola broke out in 2014]], the volunteers mapped 100,000 buildings and hundreds of miles of roads in Guinea in just five days.{{Sfn|Foody|2017|p=43}} Local groups such as [[Ramani Huria]] in [[Dar es Salaam]] incorporate OSM mapping into their [[community resilience]] programmes. [[Community emergency response team]]s in [[San Francisco]] and elsewhere organize field surveys and mapathons to contribute information about [[fire alarm call box]]es, [[hazard symbol]]s, and other relevant features.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Resiliency Maps: Mapping for Emergencies|first=Nicole|last=Martinelli|journal=Calafia|publisher=California Map Society|location=Capitola, California|volume=2020|issue=1|date=March 2020|pages=15–16, 23|issn=2995-6773}}</ref>

===Conferences===
[[File:State of the Map 2022 - group photo 10.jpg|thumb|right|In 2022, over 600 people attended State of the Map in [[Florence]] or online.<ref>{{cite web|title=State of the Map 2022 – Thanks, what you can still do, statistics and upcoming regional SotMs|first=Dorothea|last=Kazazi|work=OpenStreetMap Blog|publisher=OpenStreetMap Foundation|location=Cambridge|date=19 September 2022|accessdate=23 October 2024|url=https://blog.openstreetmap.org/2022/09/19/state-of-the-map-2022-thanks/}}</ref>]]

Since 2007, the OpenStreetMap community has organised State of the Map (SotM), an annual international conference at which stakeholders present on technical progress and discuss policy issues.<ref name="sotm"/><ref>{{cite journal|title=Plotting practices and politics: (im)mutable narratives in OpenStreetMap|first=Chris|last=Perkins|journal=[[Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers]]|publisher=Royal Geographical Society|volume=39|issue=2|date=17 September 2013|pages=304–317|doi=10.1111/tran.12022|url=https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/tran.12022|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The conference is held each year in a different city around the world. Various regional editions of State of the Map are also held for each continent, regions such as the Baltics and Latin America, and some countries with especially active local communities, such as France, Germany, and the United States.

=== Criticism ===
OpenStreetmap's community has been criticised by a former moderator and long-time contributor, Serge Wroclawski, due to the fact that while it appears like a map, it functions like a database. He also noted that the community was not welcoming to new mappers, where there is no review model, and so if bad edits are removed the original contributor may not know why, as well as noting that the project has hidden gatekeepers who resist change.<ref>{{Cite web |title=OpenStreetMap Should Be a Priority for the Open Source Community {{!}} Linux Journal |url=https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/openstreetmap-should-be-priority-open-source-community |access-date=2026-02-25 |website=www.linuxjournal.com}}</ref>

==Operation==
{{expand section|date=September 2024}}
[[File:OSM Components.svg|thumb|300px|OSM application architectural components]]

The official OSM website at openstreetmap.org is the project's main hub for contributors. A reference implementation of a [[Tiled web map|slippy map]] (featuring a selection of third-party tile layers), a [[Changelog|revision log]], and integrations with basic [[geocoder]]s and route planners facilitate the community's management of the database contents. Logged-in users can access an embedded copy of the [[iD (software)|iD]] editor and shortcuts for desktop editors for contributing to the database, as well as some rudimentary [[social networking]] features such as user profiles and diaries. The website's built-in [[REST]] API and [[OAuth]] authentication enable third-party applications to programmatically interact with the site's major functionality, including submitting changes. Much of the website runs as a [[Ruby on Rails]] application backed by a [[PostgreSQL]] database.

==Software development==
Strictly speaking, the OSM project produces only a geographic database, leaving data consumers to handle every aspect of postprocessing the data and presenting it to end users. However, a large ecosystem of command line tools, software libraries, and cloud services has developed around OSM, much of it as [[free and open-source software]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}

Two kinds of [[Solution stack|software stack]]s have emerged for rendering OSM data as an interactive [[Tiled web map|slippy map]]. In one, a server-side rendering engine such as [[Mapnik]] prerenders the data as a series of [[Raster graphics|raster image]] tiles, then serves them using a library such as ''mod_tile''. A library such as [[OpenLayers]] or [[Leaflet (software)|Leaflet]] displays these tiles on the client side on the slippy map. Alternatively, a server application converts raw OSM data into [[vector tiles]] according to a schema, such as Mapbox Streets, OpenMapTiles, or Shortbread. These tiles are rendered on the client side by a library such as the [[Mapbox]] Maps SDK, [[MapLibre]], [[Mapzen]]'s Tangrams, or OpenLayers. Applications such as [[Mapbox]] Studio allow designers to author vector styles in an interactive, visual environment.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-12/mapzen-s-tangram-engine-lets-you-make-custom-maps-with-unprecedented-new-design-tools |title=Interactive Maps Can Now Get the 'Matrix' Treatment |date=2015-05-13 |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=Bloomberg}}</ref> Vector maps are especially common among three-dimensional mapping applications and mobile applications. Plugins are available for embedding slippy maps in [[content management system]]s such as [[WordPress]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://blog.openstreetmap.org/2010/03/31/wordpress-plugin-osm-v09/ |title= WordPress OSM Plugin from openstreetmap.org |date=2010-03-31 |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=openstreetmap.org}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=November 2025}}

A geocoder indexes map data so that users can search it by name and address ([[geocoding]]) or look up an address based on a given coordinate pair ([[reverse geocoding]]). Several geocoders are designed to index OSM data, including {{Anchor|Nominatim}}Nominatim (from the Latin, 'by name'), which is built into the official OSM website along with [[GeoNames]].<ref name="OSM-Nominatim">{{Cite web |title=Nominatim website homepage |url=https://nominatim.org |publisher=Nominatim |access-date=7 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geonames.org/|title=GeoNames|access-date=7 August 2023}}</ref> [[Komoot]]'s Photon [[search engine]] provides [[incremental search]] functionality based on a Nominatim database. The nonprofit [[Social Web Foundation]]'s places.pub formats OSM locations as [[ActivityPub]] objects, enabling social media applications to enrich geocodes associated with [[check-in]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=places.pub|work=Social Web Foundation |location=San Francisco|date=29 April 2025|accessdate=3 May 2025|url=https://socialwebfoundation.org/2025/04/29/places-pub/}}</ref> Element 84's [[Natural language processing|natural language]] geocoder uses a [[large language model]] to identify OSM geometries to return.<ref>{{cite podcast|title=Natural Language Geocoding|first=Daniel|last=Odonohue|work=MapScaping|time=16:30|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://mapscaping.com/podcast/natural-language-geocoding/}}</ref>

A variety of [[route planning]] libraries and services are based on OSM data. OSM's official website has featured [[GraphHopper]], the [[Open Source Routing Machine]], and Valhalla since February 2015.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Filney |first=Klint |date=11 November 2013 |title=Out in the Open: How to Get Google Maps Directions Without Google |url=https://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/11/osrm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111175911/http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/11/osrm/ |archive-date=11 November 2013 |access-date=11 November 2013 |newspaper=Wired}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Routing on OpenStreetMap.org {{!}} OpenStreetMap Blog |url=https://blog.openstreetmap.org/2015/02/16/routing-on-openstreetmap-org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150301204509/https://blog.openstreetmap.org/2015/02/16/routing-on-openstreetmap-org/ |archive-date=1 March 2015 |access-date=28 April 2015}}</ref> Other widely deployed routing engines include Openrouteservice and [[OpenTripPlanner]], which specializes in public transport routing.{{Citation needed|date=November 2025}}

==Uses==
OSM is an important source of [[geographic data]] in many fields, including transportation, analysis, public services, and humanitarian aid. However, much of its use by consumers is indirect via third-party products, because [[customer review]]s and [[Aerial photography|aerial]] and [[satellite imagery]] are not part of the project per se.<ref name="Schröder-Bergen" />

===Cartography===
[[File:Soho - map 1.png|thumb|OpenStreetMap of [[Soho]], central London, shown in the "Carto" OpenStreetMap layer]]

A variety of applications and services allow users to visualise OSM data in the form of a map. The official OSM website features an interactive [[Tiled web map|slippy map]] interface so that users can efficiently edit maps and view [[changeset]]s. It presents the general-purpose ''OpenStreetMap Carto'' style alongside a selection of specialised styles for cycling and public transport.

Beyond this reference implementation, community-maintained map applications focus on alternative cartographic representations and specialised use cases. For example, [[OpenRailwayMap]] is a detailed online map of the world's railway infrastructure based on OSM data.<ref>{{Cite web |title=OpenRailwayMap - OpenStreetMap Wiki |url=https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenRailwayMap |access-date=22 June 2022 |archive-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816054212/https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenRailwayMap |url-status=live }}</ref> [[OpenSeaMap]] is a world [[nautical chart]] built as a [[Mashup (web application hybrid)|mashup]] of OpenStreetMap, crowdsourced water depth tracks, and third-party weather and bathymetric data. OpenTopoMap uses OSM and [[Shuttle Radar Topography Mission|SRTM]] data to create [[topographic map]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=OpenTopoMap |url=https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenTopoMap |access-date=5 February 2022 |archive-date=31 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131104608/https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenTopoMap |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Tactile Map Automated Production]] prints [[tactile map]]s that feature embossed streets, paths, and railroads from OSM.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Tactile Maps: Exploring the World by Touch|first1=Christina|last1=Daniels|first2=Greg|last2=Kehret|first3=Naomi|last3=Rosenberg|journal=Calafia|publisher=California Map Society|location=Capitola, California|volume=2024|issue=2|date=September 2024|pages=10–12|issn=2995-6765}}</ref>

On the desktop, applications such as [[GNOME Maps]] and [[Marble (software)|Marble]] provide their own interactive styles. GIS suites such as [[QGIS]] allow users to produce their own custom maps based on the same data.

===Geolocation===
{{Maplink|frame=yes|frame-align=right|type=shape|id=Q243|zoom=16|stroke-width=1.5|text=Wikimedia Maps ({{tlx|Maplink}}) example, highlighting the [[Eiffel Tower]] using live OpenStreetMap data}}

Many commercial and noncommercial websites feature maps powered by OSM data in [[locator map]]s, [[Online locator service|store locator]]s, [[infographic]]s, story maps, and other [[Mashup (web application hybrid)|mashup]]s. Locator maps on [[Wikipedia]] and [[Wikivoyage]] articles for cities and points of interest are powered by a [[MediaWiki]] extension and the OSM-based Wikimedia Maps service.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://diff.wikimedia.org/2018/06/28/interactive-maps-now-in-your-language/ |title=Interactive maps, now in your language |date=2018-06-28 |access-date=2023-08-07 |website=Wikimedia}}</ref> The locator maps on [[Craigslist]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooper |first=Daniel |date=28 August 2012 |title=Craigslist quietly switching to OpenStreetMap data |newspaper=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/2012/08/28/craigslist-open-street-map/ |url-status=live |access-date=12 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116154131/http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/28/craigslist-open-street-map/ |archive-date=16 November 2012}}</ref> [[Facebook]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hi.stamen.com/launching-the-facebook-map-8d028c4f0e0e|last=Adkins|first=Jonah|title=Launching the Facebook Map|date=25 February 2021}}</ref> [[Flickr]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blog.flickr.net/en/2008/08/12/around-the-world-and-back-again/ |title=Around the world and back again |publisher=blog-flickr.net |access-date=7 November 2008 |date=12 August 2008 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920205913/https://blog.flickr.net/en/2008/08/12/around-the-world-and-back-again/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Foursquare City Guide]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blog.foursquare.com/2012/02/29/foursquare-is-joining-the-openstreetmap-movement-say-hi-to-pretty-new-maps/ |title=Foursquare Blog |publisher=Blog.foursquare.com |access-date=23 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130912112300/http://blog.foursquare.com/2012/02/29/foursquare-is-joining-the-openstreetmap-movement-say-hi-to-pretty-new-maps/ |archive-date=12 September 2013 }}</ref> [[Gurtam]]'s Wialon,<ref name="Wialon">{{Cite web |url=https://wialon.com/en/blog/updates-whats-new-in-january-2021 |title=Updates: what's new in January 2021 |date=15 February 2021 |first=Tatsiana |last=Bravina |publisher=Gurtam |access-date=15 July 2021 |archive-date=15 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715143530/https://gurtam.com/en/blog/updates-whats-new-in-january-2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Snapchat]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://geoawesomeness.com/snapchat-buys-zenly-show-users-friends/ |title=Snapchat's new Snap Map shows users their friends' locations |publisher=geoawesomeness.com |date=22 June 2017 |access-date=28 February 2018 |archive-date=6 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180106174917/http://geoawesomeness.com/snapchat-buys-zenly-show-users-friends/ |url-status=live }}</ref> are also powered by OSM. From 2013 to 2022, [[GitHub]] visualized any uploaded [[GeoJSON]] data atop an OSM-based [[Mapbox]] basemap.<ref>{{cite web|title=There's a map for that|first=Ben|last=Balter|work=The GitHub Blog|publisher=GitHub|location=San Francisco|date=13 June 2013|accessdate=15 September 2024|url=https://github.blog/news-insights/product-news/there-s-a-map-for-that/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Transitioning from MapBox to Azure Maps|work=GitHub Changelog|publisher=GitHub|location=San Francisco|date=28 June 2022|accessdate=15 September 2024|url=https://github.blog/changelog/2022-06-28-transitioning-from-mapbox-to-azure-maps/}}</ref>

In 2012, [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] quietly switched the locator map in [[iPhoto]] from [[Google Maps]] to OSM.<ref>{{cite news|title=Apple begins using OpenStreetMap data, to OSM Foundation's surprise|first=Casey|last=Johnston|work=[[Ars Technica]]|date=3 August 2012|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/03/apple-begins-using-openstreetmap-data-to-osms-surprise/}}</ref> Interactive OSM-based maps appear in many [[augmented reality game]]s, mobile navigation applications, and fitness applications, such as [[Strava]].<ref name="Stava">{{Cite web |url=https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/208861297-Feedback-for-Strava-s-new-maps-OpenStreetMap- |title=Feedback for Strava's new maps (OpenStreetMap) |date=28 July 2015 |first=Elle |last=Anderson |publisher=Strava.com |access-date=1 July 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817205837/https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/208861297-Feedback-for-Strava-s-new-maps-OpenStreetMap- |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Geospatial analysis===
{{expand section|date=September 2024}}
[[File:India OpenStreetMap data loading in QGIS.gif|thumb|Raw OpenStreetMap data of India loading in [[QGIS]] for analysis and map-making]]

The [[Overpass API]] searches the OSM database for features whose metadata or topology match criteria specified in a structured [[query language]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Olbricht |first=Roland |editor1-first=J. |editor1-last=Jokar Arsanjani|editor2-first=A. |editor2-last=Zipf|editor3-first=P. |editor3-last=Mooney|editor4-first=M.|editor4-last=Helbich|series=Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography |title=OpenStreetMap in GIScience |publisher=Springer International Publishing Switzerland |date=2015 |pages=101–122 |chapter=Chapter: Data Retrieval for Small Spatial Regions in OpenStreetMap|isbn=978-3-319-14280-7}}</ref> Overpass turbo is an [[integrated development environment]] for querying this API. [[Bellingcat]] develops an alternative Overpass frontend for geolocating photographs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Finding Geolocation Leads with Bellingcat's OpenStreetMap Search Tool|first=Logan|last=Williams|publisher=Bellingcat|date=8 May 2023|accessdate=15 September 2024|url=https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2023/05/08/finding-geolocation-leads-with-bellingcats-openstreetmap-search-tool/}}</ref>

[[QLever]] and [[Sophox]] are [[triplestore]]s that accept standard [[SPARQL]] queries to return facts about the OSM database. [[Geographic information retrieval]] systems such as NLMaps Web<ref>{{cite conference|title=NLMaps web: A natural language interface to OpenStreetMap|first=Simon|last=Will|editor1-first=M.|editor1-last=Minghini|editor2-first=C.|editor2-last=Ludwing|editor3-first=J.|editor3-last=Anderson|editor4-first=P.|editor4-last=Mooney|editor5-first=A.|editor5-last=Grinberger|conference=Proceedings of the Academic Track at the State of the Map 2021 Online Conference|date=9–11 July 2021|pages=13–15|doi=10.5281/zenodo.51122|url=https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/30587/7/State_of_the_Map_2021_3_NLMaps_Web.pdf}}</ref> and OSCAR<ref>{{cite conference|title=Searching OSM Planet with Context-Aware Spatial Relations|first1=Daniel|last1=Bahrdt|first2=Stefan|last2=Funke|first3=Rick|last3=Gelhausen|first4=Sabine|last4=Storandt|conference=SIGSPATIAL '17: Proceedings of the 25th ACM SIGSPATIAL International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems|publisher=Association for Computing Machinery|location=New York City|date=7 November 2017|doi=10.1145/3139958.3140000|url=https://ad-publications.cs.uni-freiburg.de/a70-Bahrdt.pdf}}</ref> answer natural language queries based on OSM data. OSMnx is a [[Python (programming language)|Python]] package for analysing and visualising the OSM [[Street network|road network]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=OSMnx: New Methods for Acquiring, Constructing, Analyzing, and Visualizing Complex Street Networks|first=Geoff|last=Boeing|journal=Computers, Environment and Urban Systems|volume=65|date=September 2017|pages=126–139|doi=10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2017.05.004|arxiv=1611.01890 |bibcode=2017CEUS...65..126B |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0198971516303970}}</ref>

OSM is often a source for realistic, large-scale [[Transport network analysis|transport network analyses]]<ref>{{cite conference|title=UrbiSim: A framework for simulation of ad hoc networks in realistic urban environment|first1=Guillaume-Jean|last1=Herbiet|first2=Pascal|last2=Bouvry|conference=2009 Global Information Infrastructure Symposium|location=Hammamet, Tunisia|date=2009|pages=1–6|doi=10.1109/GIIS.2009.5307091|url=https://herbiet.gforge.uni.lu/files/ubiroads09-paper.pdf}}</ref> because the raw road network data is freely available or because of aspects of coverage that are uncommon in proprietary alternatives. OSM data can be imported into professional-grade traffic simulation frameworks such as [[Aimsun]] Next,<ref>{{cite conference|title=The Impact of Intelligent Transport Systems|first1=Alica|last1=Kalašová|first2=Jerzy|last2=Mikulski|first3=Simona|last3=Kubíková|editor-first=Jerzy|editor-last=Mikulski|conference=Challenge of Transport Telematics: 16th International Conference on Transport Systems Telematics|location=Katowice|date=March 2016|page=51|isbn=978-3-319-49646-7|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-49646-7_5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xx_DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA51|via=Google Books|url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Simulation of Urban MObility|Eclipse SUMO]],<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Traffic Simulation|first1=Javier J.|last1=Sánchez-Medina|first2=Rafael|last2=Arnay|first3=Antonio|last3=Artuñedo|first4=Sergio|last4=Campos-Cordobés|first5=Jorge|last5=Villagra|title=Intelligent Vehicles: Enabling Technologies and Future Developments|editor-first=Felipe|editor-last=Jiménez|publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]]|location=Oxford|date=2017|page=418|isbn=9780128131084|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iztHDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA418|via=Google Books}}</ref> and [[MATSim]],<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Generation of the Initial MATSim Input|first1=Marcel|last1=Rieser|first2=Kai|last2=Nagel|first3=Andreas|last3=Horni|title=The Multi-Agent Transport Simulation MATSim|editor-first1=Andreas|editor-last1=Horni|editor-first2=Kai|editor-last2=Nagel|editor-first3=Kay W.|editor-last3=Axhausen|publisher=[[Ubiquity Press]]|location=London|date=2016|page=62|isbn=978-1-909188-76-1|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VeTgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA62|via=Google Books}}</ref> as well as [[urban planning]]–focused simulators such as A/B Street.<ref>{{cite news|title=Want to fix Seattle traffic? Redditor makes game that allows players to tweak city streets and more|first=Kurt|last=Schlosser|work=[[GeekWire]]|location=Seattle|date=23 June 2020|accessdate=29 October 2024|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2020/want-fix-seattle-traffic-redditor-makes-game-allows-players-tweak-city-streets/}}</ref> A team at the [[Virginia Tech Transportation Institute]] has used Valhalla's [[map matching]] function to evaluate [[advanced driver-assistance system]]s.<ref>{{cite report|title=Characterizing Level 2 Automation in a Naturalistic Driving Fleet|first1=Miguel A.|last1=Perez|first2=Paolo|last2=Terranova|first3=Mariette|last3=Metrey|first4=Haden|last4=Bragg|first5=Nicholas|last5=Britten|publisher=Safety through Disruption (Safe-D) National [[University Transportation Centers Program|University Transportation Center]], Virginia Tech Transportation Institute|location=Blacksburg, Virginia|date=January 2024|page=9|id=VTTI-00-024|url=https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/1c80e271-6527-474b-8a77-41f3d69762a4/content#page=17}}</ref> The [[United States Census Bureau]] has analysed routes generated by the [[Open Source Routing Machine]] along with [[American Community Survey]] data to develop a socioeconomic profile of commuters affected by the [[Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Socioeconomic Profile of Commuters Likely Affected by Bridge Collapse|first1=Joey|last1=Marshall|first2=Abraham|last2=Cheung|first3=Bethany|last3=DeSalvo|first4=Chase|last4=Sawyer|first5=Heather|last5=King|first6=Isabelle|last6=Notter|work=America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers|publisher=United States Census Bureau|location=Washington, D.C.|date=8 May 2024|accessdate=17 September 2024|url=https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/05/key-bridge-commuters.html}}</ref>

OSM is also used in conservation and [[land-use planning]] research. The annual [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] is based on a comprehensive map of remaining roadless areas derived from OSM's road network.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.aaf7166|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaf7166|title=A global map of roadless areas and their conservation status |year=2016 |last1=Ibisch |first1=Pierre L. |last2=Hoffmann |first2=Monika T. |last3=Kreft |first3=Stefan |last4=Pe'Er |first4=Guy |last5=Kati |first5=Vassiliki |last6=Biber-Freudenberger |first6=Lisa |last7=Dellasala |first7=Dominick A. |last8=Vale |first8=Mariana M. |last9=Hobson |first9=Peter R. |last10=Selva |first10=Nuria |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=354 |issue=6318 |pages=1423–1427 |pmid=27980208 |bibcode=2016Sci...354.1423I |s2cid=29409229 |access-date=17 October 2018 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204231512/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311667612_A_global_map_of_roadless_areas_and_their_conservation_status |url-status=live|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{Cite journal|last1=Grantham| first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan| first2=A.| last3=Evans| first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.| last5=Beyer| first5=H. L.| last6=Schuster| first6=R.| last7=Walston| first7=J.| last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.| last10=Callow| first10=M.| last11=Clements| first11=T.| last12=Costa| first12=H. M.| last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.| last15=Ervin| first15=J.| last16=Franco|first16=P.| last17=Goldman|first17=E.| last18=Goetz|first18=S.| last19=Hansen| first19=A.| last20=Hofsvang| first20=E.| last21=Jantz| first21=P.| last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.| last24=Langhammer| first24=P.| last25=Laurance| first25=W. F.| last26=Lieberman|first26=S.| last27=Linkie|first27=M.| last28=Malhi| first28=Y.| last29=Maxwell| first29=S.| last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier |first31=R.| last32=Murray| first32=N. J.| last33=Possingham| first33=H. |last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi| first35=S.| last36=Samper| first36=C.| last37=Silverman |first37=J.| last38=Shapiro| first38=A.|last39=Strassburg| first39=B.|last40=Stevens| first40=T.| last41=Stokes| first41=E.| last42=Taylor |first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard| first44=R.| last45=Venter| first45=O.| last46=Visconti| first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material| journal=[[Nature Communications]]| volume=11| issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3| pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057| bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G}}</ref> Computer vision researchers have trained [[convolutional neural network]]s on OSM's [[land use]] areas to perform [[Feature detection (computer vision)|feature detection]] and [[image segmentation]] on [[Sentinel-2]] satellite imagery, both globally (OpenSentinelMap) and in Europe (OSMlanduse).<ref>{{cite conference|title=OpenSentinelMap: A Large-Scale Land Use Dataset using OpenStreetMap and Sentinel-2 Imagery|first1=Noah|last1=Johnson|first2=Wayne|last2=Treible|first3=Daniel|last3=Crispell|conference=2022 IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Workshops (CVPRW)|location=New Orleans|date=19–20 June 2022|pages=1332–1340|doi=10.1109/CVPRW56347.2022.00139}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=OSMlanduse a dataset of European Union land use at 10 m resolution derived from OpenStreetMap and Sentinel-2|first1=Michael|last1=Schultz|first2=Hao|last2=Li|first3=Zhaoyan|last3=Wu|first4=Daniel|last4=Wiell|first5=Michael|last5=Auer|first6=Zipf|last6=Alexander|journal=[[Scientific Data (journal)|Scientific Data]]|volume=12|date=2025|issue=1 |article-number=750 |id=750|issn=2052-4463|doi=10.1038/s41597-025-04703-8 |pmid=40328764 |pmc=12056200 |bibcode=2025NatSD..12..750S }}</ref>

Some newsrooms routinely incorporate OSM data into their workflows and [[data journalism]] projects. The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' maintains a dashboard of [[crime in Chicago]] visualized against an OSM basemap.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mapping Chicago's shooting victims|first=Lauren|last=Adelia|work=News Apps Blog|publisher=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=15 July 2013|url=https://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2013/07/15/mapping-chicagos-shooting-victims/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517212341/https://blog.apps.chicagotribune.com/2013/07/15/mapping-chicagos-shooting-victims/|archivedate=17 May 2023}}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' accompany articles with locator maps and more in-depth visuals that rely on OSM's hyperlocal coverage of places that have less detail in proprietary maps.<ref>{{cite journal|title=How the Los Angeles Times tells stories through maps|first=John|last=Schleuss|journal=Calafia|publisher=California Map Society|location=Capitola, California|volume=2018|issue=1|date=March 2018|pages=35–36|issn=2995-6773}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference|title=How we use OpenStreetMap data for news mapping|first=Hannah|last=Dormido|conference=State of the Map U.S. 2024|publisher=OpenStreetMap U.S.|location=Richmond, Virginia|date=9 June 2023|accessdate=26 November 2024|url=https://openstreetmap.us/events/state-of-the-map-us/2023/how-we-use-osm-data-for-news-mapping/}}</ref>

Various groups, including researchers, data journalists, the [[Open Knowledge Foundation]], and [[Geochicas]], have used OSM in conjunction with [[Wikidata]] to explore the demographics of people honoured by street names and raise awareness of gender bias in naming decisions.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Gendered cities: Studying urban gender bias through street names|first1=Dolores|last1=Gutiérrez-Mora|first2=Daniel|last2=Oto-Peralías|journal=[[Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science]]|volume=49|issue=6|date=10 February 2022|pages=1792–1809|doi=10.1177/23998083211068844|bibcode=2022EnPlB..49.1792G |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23998083211068844|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=How we used OpenStreetMap and Wikidata to map street names across Europe – Part 1|first=Giorgio|last=Comai|publisher=European Data Journalism Network|location=Trento|date=16 July 2021|accessdate=15 September 2024|url=https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/cp_data_news/finding-gendered-street-names-a-step-by-step-walkthrough-with-r/}} {{cite web|title=How we used OpenStreetMap and Wikidata to map street names across Europe – Part 2|first=Giorgio|last=Comai|publisher=European Data Journalism Network|location=Trento|date=6 March 2023|accessdate=15 September 2024|url=https://www.europeandatajournalism.eu/cp_data_news/the-messy-data-sources-behind-mapping-diversity/}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Cartographic Design of Cultural Maps|first1=Edyta Paulina|last1=Bogucka|first2=Marios|last2=Constantinides|first3=Luca Maria|last3=Aiello|first4=Daniele|last4=Quercia|first5=Wonyoung|last5=So|first6=Melanie|last6=Bancilhon|journal=[[IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications]]|volume=40|issue=6|date=November–December 2020|pages=12–20|doi=10.1109/MCG.2020.3026596|pmid=32970593 |arxiv=2106.04688 |bibcode=2020ICGA...40f..12B }}</ref>

===Navigation===
{{expand section|date=July 2024}}

[[File:Bus -135 device.jpg|thumb|right|A device on the dashboard of a [[Sydtrafik]] bus in Denmark tracks the operator's route using OSM data.]]

OSM is a data source for some Web-based map services. In 2010, [[Bing Maps]] introduced an option to display an OSM-based map<ref>{{cite web|title=Bing Maps Adds OpenStreetMap|work=Maps Blog|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|location=Redmond, Washington|date=3 August 2010|accessdate=20 September 2024|url=https://blogs.bing.com/maps/August-2010/Bing-Maps-Adds-OpenStreetMap}}</ref> and later began including building data from OSM by default.<ref name="Verge Warren" /> [[Wheelmap.org]] is a portal for discovering wheelchair-accessible places, [[Mashup (web application hybrid)|mashing up]] OSM data with a separate, crowdsourced [[customer review]] database.

Mobile applications such as [[CoMaps]], [[CycleStreets]], [[Karta GPS]], [[Komoot]],<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Butcher|first1=Mike|date=12 August 2013|title=Komoot Launches Its Hiking And Cycling Guide App Across European Regions|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/08/12/komoot-launches-its-hiking-and-cycling-guide-app-across-european-regions/|access-date=10 March 2021|website=TechCrunch}}</ref> [[Locus Map]], [[Maps.me]], [[Organic Maps]], and [[OsmAnd]] also provide offline route planning capabilities. [[Apple Maps]] uses OSM data in many countries.{{sfn|Murdoch|Kelly|Quinlan|Harpster|2020|p=7}} Some of [[Garmin]]'s GPS products incorporate OSM data.<ref>{{cite web|title=What is OpenStreetMap?|work=Garmin Support Center|publisher=Garmin|location=Olathe, Kansas|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=mSWyDE91q874qY0e9JkL1A}}</ref> OSM is a popular source for road data among Iranian navigation applications, such as Balad.<ref name="ZoomIT" /> [[Geotab]]<ref name="Geotab">{{Cite web |url=http://www.geotab.com/blog/smarter-fleet-management-with-geotabs-posted-road-speed-information/ |title=Smarter Fleet Management with Geotab's Posted Road Speed Information |date=8 October 2013 |first=Maria |last=S |work=Geotab Blog |publisher=Geotab |access-date=10 August 2014 |archive-date=14 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214124657/http://www.geotab.com/blog/smarter-fleet-management-with-geotabs-posted-road-speed-information/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[TeleNav]]<ref>{{cite news|title=In Open Navigation Tie-Up, Telenav Acquires Skobbler for $23.8 Million|first=Liz|last=Gannes|work=Recode|date=30 January 2014|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://www.vox.com/2014/1/30/11622932/in-open-navigation-tie-up-telenav-acquires-skobbler-for-23-8-million}}</ref> also use OSM data in their in-car navigation systems.

Some public transportation providers rely on OpenStreetMap data in their route planning services and for other analysis needs.

OSM data appears in the driver or rider application or powers backend operations for [[Ridesharing company|ridesharing companies]] and related services.<ref name="Grab">{{Cite web |url=https://engineering.grab.com/building-hyperlocal-grabmaps |title=Building hyperlocal GrabMaps |date=30 August 2023 |first=Adrina |last=Lazar |publisher=Grab Tech Blog |access-date=14 August 2024 |archive-date=17 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240717205444/https://engineering.grab.com/building-hyperlocal-grabmaps |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2022, [[Grab Holdings|Grab]] completed a migration from Google Maps and [[Here Maps]] to an in-house, OSM-based navigation solution, reducing trip times by about 90 seconds.<ref name="ROW Anindya" /> In 2024, [[Ola Consumer|Ola]] introduced a mapping platform partly based on OSM data.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ola replaces Google Maps with in-house 'Ola Maps', announces API for developers|work=[[The Indian Express]]|location=Noida|date=8 July 2024|accessdate=13 November 2024|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/ola-replaces-google-maps-with-in-house-ola-maps-9437898/}}</ref>

In 2019, owners of [[Tesla Inc.|Tesla]] cars found that the Smart Summon [[automatic valet parking]] feature within [[Tesla Autopilot]] relied on OSM's coverage of parking lot details.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tesla Owners Can Edit Maps to Improve Summon Routes|work=Tesla Motors Club|date=4 November 2019|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://teslamotorsclub.com/2019/11/04/tesla-owners-can-edit-maps-to-improve-summon-routes/}}</ref> [[Webots]] uses OSM data to simulate realistic surroundings for autonomous vehicles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Webots OpenStreetMap Importer |url=https://www.cyberbotics.com/doc/automobile/openstreetmap-importer |website=cyberbotics.com |access-date=13 July 2018 |archive-date=13 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713171415/https://www.cyberbotics.com/doc/automobile/openstreetmap-importer |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Humanitarian aid===
{{See also|Crisis mapping|Smart mob|Ushahidi}}
[[File:Openstreetmap Philippines GPS Map by Schadow1 Expeditions.jpg|thumb|OpenStreetMap Philippines GPS map, an end-product of over a thousand crisis mappers that contributed almost 5 million map updates during the 2013 Haiyan humanitarian activation<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://resultmaps.neis-one.org/osm-typhoon-haiyan-2013-contributors| title=OpenStreetMap Activities for Typhoon Haiyan (2013)|website=Neis-one.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721191839/http://resultmaps.neis-one.org/osm-typhoon-haiyan-2013-contributors|archive-date=21 July 2018|access-date=24 April 2015}}</ref>]]

Humanitarian [[Aid agency|aid agencies]] use OSM data both proactively and reactively. OSM's road and building coverage allow them to discover patterns of disease outbreaks and target interventions such as [[antimalarial medication]]s toward remote villages. After a disaster occurs, they produce large-format printed maps and downloadable maps for [[GPS tracking unit]]s for aid workers to use in the field.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=How OpenStreetMap Used Humans and Machines to Map Affected Areas After Typhoon Haiyan|chapter-url=https://datajournalism.com/read/handbook/verification-1/adding-the-computer-crowd-to-the-human-crowd/7-adding-the-computer-crowd-to-the-human-crowd/7-1-how-openstreetmap-used-humans-and-ma-chines-to-map-affected-areas-after-typhoon-haiyan|first=Dan|last=Stowell|title=Verification Handbook|editor-first=Craig|editor-last=Silverman|publisher=European Journalism Centre|location=Maastricht|edition=1st|date=5 August 2020|accessdate=17 September 2024|url=https://datajournalism.com/read/handbook/verification-1/}}</ref>

The [[2010 Haiti earthquake]] established a model for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to collaborate with international organisations. OpenStreetMap and Crisis Commons volunteers used available satellite imagery to map the roads, buildings and refugee camps of [[Port-au-Prince]] in just two days, building "the most complete digital map of Haiti's roads".<ref name="forbes" /><ref name="nytimes" /> The resulting data and maps have been used by several organisations providing relief aid, such as the [[World Bank]], the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]], [[UNOSAT]] and others.<ref>{{Cite web |author=European Commission Joint Research Centre |title=Haiti Earthquakes: Infrastructure Port-au-Prince 15/01/2010 |date=15 January 2010 |url=http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_pp_haiti_map_04.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025082950/http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/downloads/jrc_pp_haiti_map_04.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2012 }}</ref>

After Haiti, the OpenStreetMap community continued mapping to support humanitarian organisations for various crises and disasters. After the [[Northern Mali conflict]] (January 2013), [[Typhoon Haiyan]]<ref>{{Cite web |first=Debora |last=MacKenzie |title=Social media helps aid efforts after typhoon Haiyan |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24565-social-media-helps-aid-efforts-after-typhoon-haiyan.html#.U-QaA2MmUro |date=12 November 2013 |access-date=7 August 2014 |archive-date=8 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708032052/http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24565-social-media-helps-aid-efforts-after-typhoon-haiyan.html#.U-QaA2MmUro |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Robinson |last=Meyer |title=How Online Mapmakers Are Helping the Red Cross Save Lives in the Philippines |website=[[The Atlantic]] |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/how-online-mapmakers-are-helping-the-red-cross-save-lives-in-the-philippines/281366/ |date=12 November 2013 |access-date=7 August 2014 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204231509/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/how-online-mapmakers-are-helping-the-red-cross-save-lives-in-the-philippines/281366/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in the Philippines (November 2013), and the [[Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa]] (March 2014), the OpenStreetMap community in association with the NGO Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) has shown it can play a significant role in supporting humanitarian organisations.{{Sfn|Foody|2017|p=43}}

===Gaming===
OSM is a map data source for many [[location-based game]]s that require broad coverage of local details such as streets and buildings. One of the earliest such games was [[Hasbro]]'s short-lived ''[[Monopoly City Streets]]'' (2009), which offered a choice between OSM and [[Google Maps]] as the playing board.<ref name="pcworld" /><ref name="BBC-Monopoly" /> ''[[Battlefield 4]]'' (2013) used a customized OSM-based [[Mapbox]] map in its leaderboards.<ref>{{cite web|title=Battlefield launches with Mapbox maps|publisher=Mapbox|location=Washington, D.C.|date=20 October 2013|url=https://www.mapbox.com/blog/battlefield-launches-with-mapbox-maps/|quote=Leaderboards allow players to compete within their geographic regions. The maps are tailored to the look and feel of the game.|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2013, Ballardia shut down testing of ''[[World of the Living Dead|World of the Living Dead: Resurrection]]'', because too many players attempted to use the Google Maps–based game, then relaunched it after switching to OSM, which could handle thousands of players.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/2013-01-12-world-of-the-living-dead-resurrection-expands-closed-beta |title=World of the Living Dead Resurrection Expands Closed Beta |first=Jonah A. |last=Falcon |work=Strategy Informer |date=1 December 2013 |access-date=6 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106044921/http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/26286/world-of-the-living-dead-resurrection-expands-closed-beta |archive-date=6 January 2014 }}</ref>

[[File:Innsbruck in FlightGear 2020.x with OSM2City Output based on Open Street Map data 01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Innsbruck]] in ''[[FlightGear|FlightGear Flight Simulator]]'']]

[[Flight simulator]]s combine OSM's coverage of roads and structures with other sources of natural environment data, acting as sophisticated 3D map renderers, in order to add realism to the ground below. ''[[X-Plane (simulator)|X-Plane]] 10'' (2011) replaced [[Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing|TIGER]] and [[VMAP0]] with OSM for roads, railways, and some bodies of water.<ref>{{cite web|title=OpenStreetMap and X-Plane 10|first=Ben|last=Supnik|work=X-Plane Developer|publisher=[[Laminar Research]]|location=Columbia, South Carolina|date=17 April 2011|accessdate=14 September 2024|url=https://developer.x-plane.com/2011/04/openstreetmap-and-x-plane-10/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=OSM: What Data Will the Global Scenery Use|first=Ben|last=Supnik|work=X-Plane Developer|publisher=Laminar Research|location=Columbia, South Carolina|date=18 April 2011|accessdate=14 September 2024|url=https://developer.x-plane.com/2011/04/osm-what-data-will-the-global-scenery-use/}}</ref> ''[[Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020 video game)|Microsoft Flight Simulator]]'' (2020) introduced software-generated building models based in part on OSM data.<ref name="Verge Warren" /> In 2020, ''[[FlightGear|FlightGear Flight Simulator]]'' officially integrated OSM buildings and roads into the official scenery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Changelog 2020.3|work=FlightGear wiki|publisher=FlightGear|date=13 November 2023|accessdate=14 September 2024|url=https://wiki.flightgear.org/Changelog_2020.3#2020.3.7}}</ref>

[[City-building game]]s and [[business simulation game]]s use a subset of OSM data as a base layer to take advantage of the player's familiarity with their surroundings. In ''[[NIMBY Rails]]'' (2021), the player develops a railway network that coexists with real-world roads and bodies of water.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Carrasco |first1=Carlos |title=NIMBY Rails — A development retrospective |date=16 March 2020 |url=https://carloscarrasco.com/nimby-rails-retrospective/ |access-date=22 September 2022}}</ref> In Jutsu Games' ''[[Infection Free Zone]]'' (2024), the player builds fortifications amid a post-apocalyptic world based on OSM streets and buildings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://strategyandwargaming.com/2024/04/08/infection-free-zone-review-finally-an-interesting-strategy-zombie-game/ |title=Infection Free Zone Review – Finally, An Interesting Strategy Zombie Game |website=Strategy and Wargaming |access-date=April 12, 2024 |first=Nuno Carvalho |last=Marques |date=April 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240412101715/https://strategyandwargaming.com/2024/04/08/infection-free-zone-review-finally-an-interesting-strategy-zombie-game/ |archive-date=April 12, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other titles include ''City Bus Manager'', ''Global Farmer'', and ''Logistical: Earth''. These games incorporate realistic elements but take some liberties to enhance gameplay and mitigate gaps in OSM's coverage.<ref>{{cite news|title=Real-world map data is helping make better games about farms and transportation|first=Jay|last=Castello|work=[[The Verge]]|location=New York City|date=May 25, 2025|accessdate=May 25, 2025|url=https://www.theverge.com/games/672035/openstreetmap-data-games}}</ref>

[[Alternate reality game]]s rely on OSM data to determine where rewards and other elements of the game [[Spawning (video games)|spawn]] in the player's presence, such as the 'portals' in ''[[Ingress (video game)|Ingress]]'', the 'PokéStops' and 'Pokémon Gyms' in ''[[Pokémon Go]]'', and the 'tappables' in ''[[Minecraft Earth]]'' (2019).<ref>{{cite news|title=Minecraft Earth is coming – it will change the way you see your town|first=Keith|last=Stuart|work=The Guardian|location=London|date=1 October 2019|accessdate=14 September 2024|url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2019/oct/01/minecraft-earth-launch-games-microsoft-augmented-reality}}</ref> In 2017, when [[Niantic (company)|Niantic]] migrated its augmented reality titles, including ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go'', from Google Maps to OSM, the [[overworld]] maps in these games initially became more detailed for some players but completely blank for others, due to OSM's uneven geographic coverage at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pokemon Go now uses OSM |url=http://comicbook.com/gaming/2017/12/01/pokemon-go-maps/ |website=comicbook.com |date=December 2017 |access-date=10 December 2017 |archive-date=11 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211054131/http://comicbook.com/gaming/2017/12/01/pokemon-go-maps/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Groux |first1=Christopher |title='Pokémon Go' Map Updated To OSM From Google Maps: What Is OpenStreetMap? |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/pokemon-go-map-updated-osm-google-maps-what-openstreetmap-2622624 |website=International Business Times |access-date=9 August 2018 |date=1 December 2017 |archive-date=9 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809215708/https://www.ibtimes.com/pokemon-go-map-updated-osm-google-maps-what-openstreetmap-2622624 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the first six weeks after launching in South Korea, ''Pokémon Go'' produced a seventeenfold spike in daily OSM contributions within the country.<ref>{{cite conference|title=How an augmented reality game (Pokémon GO) affected volunteer contributions to OpenStreetMap|first=Brian Alan|last=Johnson|conference=Proceedings of the 29th International Cartographic Conference (ICC 2019)|publisher=[[International Cartographic Association]]|location=Tokyo|volume=2|issue=54|date=15–20 July 2019|doi=10.5194/ica-proc-2-54-2019|doi-access=free |url=https://ica-proc.copernicus.org/articles/2/54/2019/}}</ref> In 2024, Niantic migrated its titles to [[Overture Maps Foundation|Overture Maps]] data, which incorporates some OSM data.<ref>{{cite interview|title=Marc Prioleau: Overture leaves beta|work=Geomob Podcast|first=Marc|last=Prioleau|interviewer-first=Steven|interviewer-last=Feldman|publisher=OpenCage|location=Hannover|date=29 September 2024|accessdate=14 October 2024|at=36:22|url=https://thegeomob.com/podcast/episode-253}}</ref>

== Recognition ==
OSM and projects based on it have been recognized for their contributions to design and the public good:

* In 2014, [[Free Software Foundation Europe]] awarded the [[OpenStreetMap Foundation]] its [[Document Freedom Day]] UK Award.<ref>{{cite web|title=OpenStreetMap receives Document Freedom Day Award|work=Document Freedom Day|publisher=Free Software Foundation Europe|location=Berlin|date=2014|url=http://documentfreedom.org/news/2014/news-20140324-01.en.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008074736/http://documentfreedom.org/news/2014/news-20140324-01.en.html|archivedate=8 October 2014}}</ref>
* In 2014, the [[Japan Institute of Design Promotion]] awarded OSM its [[Good Design Award (Japan)|Good Design Award]].<ref>{{cite web|title=2014グッドデザイン賞|trans-title=2024 Good Design Award|work=Good Design Award|publisher=Japan Institute of Design Promotion|date=2014|accessdate=11 September 2024|url=https://www.g-mark.org/gallery/winners/9dbaaf73-803d-11ed-af7e-0242ac130002|language=ja}}</ref>
* In 2018, the [[Swiss Society of Cartography]] awarded the OSM-based OpenMapTiles project its Prix Carto award for digital cartography.<ref>{{cite web|title=Swiss Society of Cartography and the Prix Carto award|first=Petr|last=Pridal|publisher=MapTiler|location=Unterägeri|date=12 April 2018|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://www.maptiler.com/news/2018/04/swiss-society-of-cartography-and-the-prix-carto-award/}}</ref>
* In 2019, the [[Free Software Foundation]] awarded OSM the 2018 ''[[Free Software Award for Projects of Social Benefit]]''.<ref>{{cite press release|title=OpenStreetMap and Deborah Nicholson win 2018 FSF Awards|publisher=Free Software Foundation|location=Boston|date=23 March 2019|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://www.fsf.org/news/openstreetmap-and-deborah-nicholson-win-2018-fsf-awards}}</ref>
* In 2021, [[Stamen Design]]'s OSM-based tile layer ''Watercolor'' (2010) became the first live website to enter the permanent collection of the [[Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2021/05/18/watercolor-maptiles-website-enters-permanent-collection-of-cooper-hewitt/|title=Watercolor Maptiles Website Enters Permanent Collection of Cooper Hewitt|work=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum|date=18 May 2021}}</ref>
* In 2023, the Digital Public Goods Alliance, a United Nations–endorsed initiative, recognized OSM as a [[Digital public goods|digital public good]] for its contribution toward the UN's [[Sustainable Development Goals]].<ref>{{cite web|title=OpenStreetMap|publisher=Digital Public Goods Alliance|date=27 November 2023|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://app.digitalpublicgoods.net/a/10592}}</ref>

== Influence ==
{{expand section|date=September 2024}}

According to the [[Open Data Institute]], OSM is one of the most successful collaboratively maintained open datasets in existence.<ref>{{cite web|title=How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft are contributing to an openly licensed map of the world|first1=Leigh|last1=Dodds|first2=Deborah|last2=Yates|publisher=Open Data Institute|location=London|date=14 August 2018|accessdate=12 September 2024|url=https://theodi.org/news-and-events/blog/how-are-facebook-apple-and-microsoft-contributing-to-openstreetmap/}}</ref> A 2020 [[research report]] by [[Accenture]] estimated the total [[replacement value]] of the OSM database, the value of OSM software development effort, and maintenance overhead at ${{format price|1672415000}},<ref>{{harvnb|Murdoch|Kelly|Quinlan|Harpster|2020|p=10|loc=footnote ii}}: 'Accenture applied four methods to generate a valuation range for OSM. After evaluating the variability and uncertainty of many of the underlying assumptions in these approaches, the community replacement cost method was deemed the most reliable method for estimating the value of the OSM asset. Combining the total replacement cost of the OSM database, the value of the software development effort and industry standard maintenance costs yielded a total community replacement cost of $1,672,415,000.'</ref> roughly equivalent to the value of the [[Linux kernel]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=OpenStreetMap just turned 100 million|first=Matt|last=Asay|magazine=[[InfoWorld]]|location=San Francisco|date=2 March 2021|accessdate=8 September 2024|url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/2263005/openstreetmap-just-turned-100-million.html}}</ref> Several startups have turned OSM-based [[software as a service]] into a business model, including [[Carto (company)|Carto]], [[Mapbox]],<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Mapbox services and vector tiles|chapter-url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog865/node/324|first1=Sterling|last1=Quinn|first2=Ryan|last2=Baxter|first3=James|last3=O'Brien|title=GEOG 865: Cloud and Server GIS|publisher=[[Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences]]|location=University Park, Pennsylvania|accessdate=11 September 2024|url=https://www.e-education.psu.edu/geog865/}}</ref> [[MapTiler]], and [[Mapzen]]. The [[Overture Maps Foundation]] incorporates OSM data in some of its GIS layers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAQ – Overture Maps Foundation |url=https://overturemaps.org/about/faq/ |access-date=2024-04-17 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Several open [[collaborative mapping]] projects are modeled after OSM and rely on OSM software. [[OpenHistoricalMap]] is a world [[Historical atlas|historical map]] that tracks the evolution of [[human geography]] over time, from prehistory to the present day. [[OpenGeofiction]] focuses on [[fantasy cartography]] and [[worldbuilding]]. The OSM community sees these projects as complements for aspects of geography that are out of scope for OSM.<ref>{{cite news|title=共享地圖OpenStreetMap爆改地名大戰山友憂慮增加意外|trans-title=The shared map OpenStreetMap is overrun with changed place names, climbers worry about increase in accidents|author=Yan Minghui|work=[[HK01]]|date=April 20, 2022|accessdate=April 20, 2022|url=https://www.hk01.com/即時體育/761319/行山-共享地圖openstreetmap爆改地名大戰-山友憂慮增加意外|language=Traditional Chinese}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Sterling|last1=Quinn|first2=Floyd|last2=Bull|chapter=Understanding Threats to Crowdsourced Geographic Data Quality Through a Study of OpenStreetMap Contributor Bans|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8DL3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA84|title=Geospatial Information System Use in Public Organizations: How and Why GIS Should be Used in the Public Sector|editor-first=Nicolas A.|editor-last=Valcik|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=New York City|date=2019|pages=84–85|isbn=978-1-4987-6764-4|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="Topf Ramm on the ground" />

==See also==

* {{Annotated link |Collaborative mapping}}
* {{Annotated link |Neogeography}}
* {{Annotated link |Turn-by-turn navigation}}
* {{Annotated link |Volunteered geographic information}}
* {{Annotated link |OpenDroneMap}}
* {{Annotated link |OpenHistoricalMap}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="osm-wiki-stats">{{Cite web |url=https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Stats |title=Stats |work=OpenStreetMap Wiki |access-date=25 May 2014 |archive-date=24 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524015348/http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Stats |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="nytimes">{{Cite news |title=Digital Help for Haiti |url=http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/digital-help-for-haiti/ |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=27 January 2010 |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011154945/https://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/digital-help-for-haiti/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="forbes">{{Cite news |title=Technology Saves Lives In Haiti |first=Brady |last=Forrest |url=https://www.forbes.com/2010/02/01/text-messages-maps-technology-breakthroughs-haiti.html |newspaper=[[Forbes]].com |date=1 February 2010 |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-date=5 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505192342/http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/01/text-messages-maps-technology-breakthroughs-haiti.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="ogd-Coast1">{{Cite web |url=http://old.opengeodata.org/2006/12/04/yahoo-aerial-imagery-in-osm/index.html |title=Yahoo! aerial imagery in OSM |last=Coast |first=Steve |date=4 December 2006 |work=OpenGeoData |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-date=20 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220034035/http://old.opengeodata.org/2006/12/04/yahoo-aerial-imagery-in-osm/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="ogd-Fairhurst">{{Cite web |url=http://old.opengeodata.org/2008/01/07/the-licence-where-we-are-where-were-going/index.html |title=The licence: where we are, where we're going |last=Fairhurst |first=Richard |date=7 January 2008 |work=OpenGeoData |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-date=27 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727150314/http://old.opengeodata.org/2008/01/07/the-licence-where-we-are-where-were-going/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="ogd-Coast3">{{Cite web |url=http://old.opengeodata.org/2007/07/04/and-donate-entire-netherlands-to-openstreetmap/index.html |title=AND donate entire Netherlands to OpenStreetMap |last=Coast |first=Steve |author-link=Steve Coast |date=4 July 2007 |work=OpenGeoData |type=Blog |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-date=23 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823154505/http://old.opengeodata.org/2007/07/04/and-donate-entire-netherlands-to-openstreetmap/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="pcworld">{{Cite news |title='Monopoly City Streets' Online Game: Will Buying Park Place Be Any Easier? |first=JR |last=Raphael |url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/171610/monopoly_city_streets_online_game_will_buying_park_place_be_any_easier.html |newspaper=[[PC World (magazine)|PC World]] |date=8 September 2009 |access-date=15 April 2011 |archive-date=6 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606042426/http://www.pcworld.com/article/171610/monopoly_city_streets_online_game_will_buying_park_place_be_any_easier.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="linux">{{Cite web |url=http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/119493 |title=OpenStreetMap project imports US government maps |last=Willis |first=Nathan |date=11 October 2007 |work=Linux.com |access-date=16 April 2011 |archive-date=11 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101211164306/http://www.linux.com/archive/feature/119493 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="geothought">{{Cite web |url=http://geothought.blogspot.com/2007/12/oxford-university-using-openstreetmap.html |title=Oxford University using OpenStreetMap data |last=Batty |first=Peter |date=3 December 2007 |publisher=Geothought |access-date=16 April 2011 |archive-date=1 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301051755/http://geothought.blogspot.com/2007/12/oxford-university-using-openstreetmap.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="BBC-Monopoly">{{Cite news |title=Monopoly game launches on Google |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8245700.stm |newspaper=[[BBC Online]] |date=9 September 2009 |access-date=25 February 2012 |archive-date=19 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120719142801/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8245700.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="nearmap">{{Cite web |url=http://www.nearmap.com/products/community-licence |title=Community licence |publisher=[[NearMap]] |access-date=16 April 2011 |archive-date=3 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403154709/http://www.nearmap.com/products/community-licence |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="systemed">{{Cite web |url=http://www.systemed.net/blog/legacy/entry080113140415.html |title=Cycle map on your GPS |last=Fairhurst |first=Richard |date=13 January 2008 |work=Système D |access-date=16 April 2011 |archive-date=6 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110206080942/http://www.systemed.net/blog/legacy/entry080113140415.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="yahoo-maps-close">{{Cite news |title=Yahoo! Maps APIs Service Closure Announcement – New Maps Offerings Coming Soon! |first=Raj |last=Mata |url=http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/posts/2011/06/yahoo-maps-apis-service-closure-announcement-new-maps-offerings-coming-soon/ |work=Yahoo! Developer Network |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623122827/http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/posts/2011/06/yahoo-maps-apis-service-closure-announcement-new-maps-offerings-coming-soon/ |archive-date=23 June 2011 |url-status=dead |date=13 June 2011 |access-date=25 February 2012 }}</ref>
}}

===Bibliography===
{{Cite book |title=Mapping and the Citizen Sensor |last=Foody |first=Giles |year=2017 |location=London |publisher=[[Ubiquity Press]] |jstor=j.ctv3t5qzc |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv3t5qzc |display-authors=etal|isbn=978-1-911529-16-3}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |title=OpenStreetMap: Be Your Own Cartographer |last=Bennett |first=Jonathan |year=2010 |publisher=Packt Publishing |isbn=978-1-84719-750-4 }}
* {{cite report|title=Navigating OpenStreetMap: how to make the most of an increasingly valuable mapping asset|first1=Robin|last1=Murdoch|first2=Christian|last2=Kelly|first3=Matthew|last3=Quinlan|first4=Jubal|last4=Harpster|publisher=Accenture|location=Dublin|date=2020|url=https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-126/Accenture-Navigating-OpenStreetMap.pdf|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117130018/https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-126/Accenture-Navigating-OpenStreetMap.pdf|archivedate=November 17, 2020}}
* {{Cite book |title=OpenStreetMap: Using and Enhancing the Free Map of the World |last1=Ramm |first1=Frederik |last2=Topf |first2=Jochen |last3=Chilton |first3=Steve |edition=1st |date=September 2010 |publisher=UIT Cambridge |isbn=978-1-906860-11-0 |url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL26147853W/OpenStreetMap?edition=key%3A/books/OL35293416M}}
* {{cite report|title=Evolution of the OSM Data Model|first=Jochen|last=Topf|publisher=[[OpenStreetMap Foundation]]|location=Cambridge|date=15 August 2022|url=https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/File:2022-08-15-study-evolution-of-the-osm-data-model-by-Jochen-Topf_CC-BY-SA_4.0.pdf}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q936|commons=category:OpenStreetMap|b=no|v=no|voy=Wikivoyage:Cooperating with OpenStreetMap|mw=Maps|m=OpenStreetMap|species=no|n=no|s=Category:OpenStreetMap|wikt=no|q=no}}
* {{Official website|https://www.openstreetmap.org}}
* {{URL|https://wiki.openstreetmap.org|Official wiki}}

{{OpenStreetMap}}
{{Satellite navigation}}
{{Volunteered geographic information}}
{{Authority control}}

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