27/02/2025-05/03/2025
[1] 3D view in the F4map of the Sambódromo da Marquês de Sapucaí, the place of the Carnival parades, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Map data © OpenStreetMap Contributors | F4map © F4 and others.
Mapping
- The proposal to add
catenary_mast:*=*, the structures that support the system of overhead wires used to supply electricity to overhead powered vehicles such as trams, street cars, light rail, trains, and trolleybuses, is open for voting until Saturday 15 March.
Community
- Pieter Vander Vennet has conducted an analysis of location reviews published via MapComplete and Mangrove Reviews.
- Michael Kennedy, host of the Talk Python Podcast, interviewed Geoff Boeing, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California, to discuss the power of OpenStreetMap as a global mapping resource. The conversation also explored Geoff’s Python library, OSMnx, which simplifies the process of downloading, modelling, and visualising OpenStreetMap data.
- Une Famille à Vélo showcased
a selection of OpenStreetMap-based apps ► designed for use before and during a bike trip. - Christoph Hormann warned of the knowledge retention and generational succession problem within the OpenStreetMap movement, citing significant losses as experienced contributors left without adequate support to pass on their expertise and the lack of a supportive environment for younger people interested in map design to develop their skills.
- Ted, from the Trufi Association, gave us an update on Salim Bouhorma, a Moroccan developer whose career was launched after he single-handedly mapped his hometown, Tétouan in 2020.
- Peter Elderson shared his perspective on mapping and tagging pedestrian and bicycle crossings.
- Supaplex reported ► that on Saturday 22 February OpenStreetMap Taiwan collaborated with the Wikidata Taiwan community to survey Luodong’s streets and temples, collecting street-view images and mapping religious sites. Meanwhile, at the g0v Hackathon, participants used online resources including the TRFC (Taiwanese Religion and Folk Culture) temple list and RapiD’s Overture data overlay to enhance temple mapping in Taipei’s Wanhua district.
- Long time contributor Dan Jacobson brought up a few issues to discuss in the community forum of Taiwan. Mainly about the correctness of the translation of village names, improvements in the user experience for CJK search, and the Taiwan community forum title being too long.
a selection of OpenStreetMap-based 
►OpenStreetMap Foundation
- The OpenStreetMap Foundation announced that OSM has been accepted as a mentoring organisation for this year’s Google Summer of Code, a global program that provides stipends for students and new open-source developers to contribute code to open-source projects. Applications will open in mid-March via Google’s official GSoC website and prospective applicants are encouraged to begin preparations in advance.
Local chapter news
- OpenStreetMap US has published its February 2025 newsletter. It spotlights Attilia’s completion of forest landcover in West Virginia (we reported earlier).
- Kiri Carini and Jazzy Smith have been elected as new members of the OpenStreetMap US Board following the recent election results. Meanwhile, Matthew Whilden was re-elected and will continue serving for another two-year term.
Events
- Registration ► is still open for the Green Open Data Day 2025, to be held on Monday 31 March, promoted by the IVIDES, in cooperation with HUB YouthMappers Rio de Janeiro and Open Knowledge Foundation. Raquel Dezidério Souto has more information in her diary post.
►OSM research
- A study using OpenStreetMap data has revealed that counties including the US and UK dedicate significantly more land to golf courses than to renewable energy. Repurposing these areas could generate up to 842 GW of solar and 659 GW of wind power – surpassing current and projected capacity in many top golfing nations.
Humanitarian OSM
- In response to the Trans-Sumatra Highway being completely cut off by severe flooding between Jambi and Padang, the OpenStreetMap Indonesia community swiftly coordinated efforts to update the map, ensuring accurate and up-to-date information for travellers and authorities.
by severe flooding between Jambi and Padang, the OpenStreetMap Indonesia community swiftly Maps
- John Nelson released a video tutorial on downloading high-resolution OpenStreetMap data using ArcGIS Online.
- Matt Whilden has developed HighSchoolMascotMap, an interactive web map that visualises high school mascots across the United States. You can also contribute to this project by adding mascot data to OpenStreetMap through this MapRoulette challenge.
- GitHub user pkoby has developed LGBTQ+ Map, an interactive web tool that assesses the inclusivity of public spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. The map categorises locations based on their level of acceptance, ranging from explicitly LGBTQ+ friendly to outright prohibitive. The data is sourced from OpenStreetMap’s lgbtq=* tag.
OSM in action
- Inijabar.com has launched Inijabar Maps, an OpenStreetMap-based interactive web map that visualises news locations ► across West Java, Indonesia.
- Justine Williams and Irene de la Torre Arenas, of the Financial Times, have designed an interactive OpenStreetMap-based map highlighting the locations of artwork installations across New York City’s subway network.
- Levels FYI have released the Software Engineer Pay Bubble Map, an interactive tool that visualises total compensation ranges for software engineers across European cities, complete with a colour-coded legend. The platform has also introduced salary heatmaps for the United States and India, offering insights into regional pay trends.
Open Data
- Lilli Iliev and Heike Gleibs, from Wikimedia Deutschland, have proposed ► several actionable steps that the German federal government could take to support and promote free knowledge.
- Henri has developed a toolchain to enhance access to cycling path geodata in OpenStreetMap, offering a dataset ► of all the cycling routes across Europe from the Geofabrik dataset.
- At the Wikidata Data Reuse Days 2025, Volker Krause showcased ► the KDE Itinerary app’s use of Wikidata and OpenStreetMap to display accurate public transport logos and colours. By combining public transport line identifiers from Wikidata with geographic data from OpenStreetMap, the app ensures correct branding even for similar lines in different cities.
►
►Software
- Map Amore showcased the Walkers Guide, an initiative aimed at creating a free and accessible global map that provides navigational support tailored for blind and visually impaired pedestrians.
- Candid Dauth has initiated a complete rewrite of the OSM History Viewer and OSM Route Manager, tools used for visualising and analysing changesets and route relations, with plans to integrate them into FacilMap. Once the transition is complete, the original services will be discontinued, with redirects put in place.
- Tiny Static Map is a lightweight JavaScript library (~1 kB) that generates static map images centred on specified coordinates, utilising OpenStreetMap tiles. Its minimalistic design allows for easy integration into web pages, enabling developers to display maps without relying on external APIs or complex setups.
- Leaflet now shows an OSM attribution if OSM tile servers are used and the web developer did not configure the attribution explicitly, following community discussion. If you find other cases of OSM tile server usage without explicit attribution, please report them to the OSMF, by opening a ticket.
- Simon Poole explained the intricate complexity of the changeset upload process in the OpenStreetMap API, while confirming that this issue will be addressed in Vespucci’s forthcoming version 21.
Programming
- LavX News has reviewed map3d, a tool for creating 3D maps using OpenStreetMap data, with support for exporting models in GLB format.
- Tykayn has developed Wololo! ►, a set of tools for converting and refining datasets from GeoJSON or CSV formats for import into OpenStreetMap. The project name is a reference to the priest unit in Age of Empires, which is used to convert an opponent’s unit to the player’s side.
Releases
- The Vespucci 21.0.0 release notes highlight many improvements in the support for uploading photos and general behaviour.
- TrickyFoxy has published better-osm-org 0.9, which includes: the display of satellite images in Chrome-based browsers, displaying photos from Mapillary, visualisation of
direction=*, display of the number of comments near links to changesets, and the ability to open objects in a changeset in JOSM or Level0. - The newly released Sketch Map Tool v2.1 features higher accuracy in digitising hand-sketched markings on Sketch Maps, thanks to a larger training dataset and an updated machine learning model for sketch detection. New user metrics show that thousands of Sketch Maps are created every month all over the world.
- Organic Maps version January 2025.01.26 has been released. This update includes improved navigation with speed limit signs, new language support, Android Auto and iOS enhancements, improved POI icons, and added map data details for communication and observation towers.
- Alexis Lecanu announced the release of version 1.7.0 of Baba, an Android and iOS application designed for contributing to the Panoramax project.
Did you know that …
- [1] … the Sambódromo da Marquês de Sapucaí, the location of the Carnival parades in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), can be seen in 3D using the F4map demo? This area is officially known as the Passarela Professor Darcy Ribeiro in honour of his services.
- … osm.org now displays the number of changes in a changeset on the history page of the changeset?
- … Commute Time Map allows you to create reachability maps for different forms of transport?
- … most OpenStreetMap services now use LetsEncrypt’s Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) HTTPS certificates for improving performance and privacy?
- … the Mozilla Firefox web browser redirects osm.ogr to openstreetmap.org?
- … you can render all the flags in front of the UN headquarters by using the
man_made=flagpoletag and Ultra?
OSM in the media
- Benedikt Bucher from CHIP reported ►, on OpenCycleMap, an online map optimised for cyclists based on OpenStreetMap, which highlights cycling routes and includes extras including parking spots, repair stations, and water refill points. Particularly useful are the elevation view for route planning and the option to display public transport connections. However, it lacks built-in navigation, making it more suitable for pre-trip planning.
Other “geo” things
- The Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) has successfully shown that Earth-based GNSS signals can be used on the lunar surface. Aboard the Blue Ghost lander, the first commercial lunar lander to achieve a successful Moon landing, the LuGRE utilised signals from two global navigation satellite systems, GPS and Galileo. These constellations provided real-time tracking data, marking a significant milestone in lunar navigation technology.
- Polish GNSS researchers have identified ship-based GNSS jammers in the Baltic Sea, shedding light on shifting patterns of GNSS disruptions in the region. Over a six-month period, starting in June 2024, the team recorded 84 hours of GNSS interference. Some incidents lasted up to seven hours, causing horizontal positioning errors of up to 30 m, enough to impact navigation in confined waterways.
Upcoming Events
| Where | What | Online | When | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
UN Mappers #ValidationFriday – Roads Mappy Hour  | 2025-03-07 | |||
| Lerdo | Mapeando tu escuela | 2025-03-07 |  | |
| OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting | 2025-03-07 | |||
| Anglet | Rencontre Mapadour (Groupe local Pays Basque – Sud Landes) | 2025-03-07 |  | |
| Zagreb | Zagreb mapathon @ FER | 2025-03-07 |  | |
| Moers | Starke Frauen, Brot und Rosen – Community-Hackday im JuNo in Moers | 2025-03-07 – 2025-03-09 |  | |
| Ciudad de México | A Synesthete’s Atlas: Cartographic Improvisations between Eric Theise and Adriana Camacho | 2025-03-08 | | |
| Dwarka | 14th OSM Delhi Mapping Party | 2025-03-09 |  | |
| København | OSMmapperCPH | 2025-03-09 |  | |
| Grenoble | Découverte d’OpenStreetMap | 2025-03-10 | | |
| 中正區 | OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #74 | 2025-03-10 |  | |
| Zürich | 173. OSM-Stammtisch Zürich | 2025-03-11 |  | |
| Hamburg | Hamburger Mappertreffen | 2025-03-11 | | |
| Žilina | Missing Maps mapathon Žilina #16 | 2025-03-13 |  | |
| Pankow | 201. Berlin-Brandenburg OpenStreetMap Stammtisch | 2025-03-13 | | |
| München | Münchner OSM-Treffen | 2025-03-13 | | |
| Marseille | Conférence présentation d’OpenStreetMap | 2025-03-14 | | |
| Marseille | Balade et cartopartie – Parcours de fraîcheur | 2025-03-15 | | |
| Comuna 13 – San Javier | Junta OSM Latam – Avances SotM Latam 2025 Medellín | 2025-03-15 |  | |
| Metz | Cartopartie – Quartier du Pontiffroy Metz | 2025-03-15 | | |
| Local Chapters and Communities Congress 2025 | 2025-03-15 | |||
| Panoramax monthly international meeting | 2025-03-17 | |||
| Missing Maps London: (Online) Mid-Month Mapathon [eng] | 2025-03-18 | |||
| Lyon | Réunion du groupe local de Lyon | 2025-03-18 | | |
| Bonn | 186. OSM-Stammtisch Bonn | 2025-03-18 | | |
| Lüneburg | Lüneburger Mappertreffen | ✓ | 2025-03-18 | |
| Karlsruhe | Stammtisch Karlsruhe | 2025-03-19 | | |
| Zürich | Missing Maps Zürich Mapathon | 2025-03-19 | | |
| Stainach-Pürgg | 16. Österreichischer OSM-Stammtisch (online) | ✓ | 2025-03-19 |  |
| Düsseldorf | Düsseldorfer OpenStreetMap-Treffen (online) | 2025-03-21 | | |
| Chemnitz | Chemnitzer Linux-Tage 2025 | 2025-03-22 – 2025-03-23 | | |
| Stadtgebiet Bremen | Bremer Mappertreffen | 2025-03-24 | |
Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into the OSM calendar. Only data which is there, will appear in weeklyOSM.
This weeklyOSM was produced by Raquel Dezidério Souto, Strubbl, Supaplex, TheSwavu, TrickyFoxy, barefootstache, jcr83, mcliquid.
We welcome link suggestions for the next issue via this form and look forward to your contributions.