weekly – semanario – hebdo – 週刊 – týdeník – Wochennotiz – 주간 – tygodnik – A summary of things happening in the OpenStreetMap world

11/07/2024-17/07/2024

The OpenStreetMap Calendar for July 2024 [¹] | © thomersch, OSMCAL

Mapping

Mirikaaa, from the Mapbox Data Team, posted on the OSM Community forum about their project to improve the representation of Indonesia’s road network in OpenStreetMap, such as adding roads, correcting alignments and missing links, correcting names, ensuring that road classifications are consistent, and other similar issues.
The proposal to specify ordering-only phone number, SMS-only phone numbers, and related tags is open for voting until Monday 29 July.

Mapping campaigns

Mateusz Konieczny has developed a website to cross-reference the AllThePlaces dataset with existing OpenStreetMap data to identify missing or outdated entries and improve the accuracy of locations such as shops and services. He also highlighted the importance of verifying data before importing it to ensure reliability.
The UN Mappers blog reported on the completion of a project to fix disconnected roads in Somalia, thanking all the volunteers who participated in the MapRoulette challenge. The article describes the methodology used, the results achieved, and the issues faced during the project.

Community

Anne-Karoline Distel blogged about her mapping of unrecorded burial grounds.
Brazil Singh and his team have run a workshop, at Jahangirnagar University in Bangladesh, providing practical and theoretical training in OpenStreetMap and Mapillary, engaging participants in hands-on mapping activities and discussions on geospatial technologies.
Antonin Delpeuch described the experience of contributing to Organic Maps as a novice mobile application developer trying to add a feature to display the smoking status of places. Despite initial support, challenges included setting up the development environment, navigating the codebase, and dealing with project governance and code formatting guidelines. Ultimately, after mixed feedback and potential rejection of the feature, he decided not to continue contributing due to these difficulties.
OpenStreetMap is celebrating its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of global, community-driven mapping. The platform has grown from a small UK-based project to a major provider of open source geospatial data, with tens of thousands of contributors worldwide. This website highlights key milestones, encourages participation in local celebrations, and invites contributors to sign a digital birthday card.
ManuelB701 blogged about the various faux pas you can commit when mapping pavements.
Michael Reichert is on his way from Karlsruhe to the SotM EU 2024 in Łódź by bike. He has shared updates and experiences from his journey on Mastodon.
Jiří Eischmann discussed ► the importance of contributing to OpenStreetMap, highlighting its widespread use by several major platforms such as Apple Maps, TomTom, and Strava. They highlighted the impact of users’ contributions in improving map accuracy and explained how changes to OSM benefit many applications, even if the direct use of OSM isn’t always obvious. The post aims to encourage more people to contribute by outlining the different ways to get involved, from simple edits to more advanced mapping tasks.
The UN Mapper of the Month for July is Sami Skhab, a Tunisian cartographer with extensive experience in GIS and remote sensing.
Christoph Hormann reflected on twenty years of OpenStreetMap, examining how the project has evolved and diverged from its original ideals of local, community-driven mapping. Chris found that while there are trends towards large-scale data addition and organisational control, the core values of local knowledge sharing and egalitarian collaboration among contributors remain strong. He also discussed the potential for future changes in OSM’s structure and the importance of maintaining respect for its founding principles.
Valerie Norton elaborated on mapping trails with the atv tag (for small wheeled vehicles) and how she decided on the tags to use for that.

Events

Tobias Jordans has compiled English translations for some of the recent SOTM FR talks, which are now available with English subtitles.
At the 16th ‘mapbox/OpenStreetMap Online Meetup’, held on Friday 19 July, ‘Team Anno’, led by Tokyo gubernatorial candidate Anno Takahiro, discussed ► the use of web maps in elections, in particular their innovative ‘Election Bulletin Board Map’. Hosted by Aoyama Gakuin University’s Furuhashi Laboratory and supported by Mapbox Japan, the event aimed to explore the future role and potential of digital maps in election campaigns and geospatial technologies.

Maps

geoObserver discussed ► the history, current state and future trends of OpenStreetMap map design. They highlighted the importance of effective cartographic design in presenting OSM data, covering aspects such as colour schemes, symbols and interactive web maps. The discussion is based on three in-depth posts from Christoph Hormann’s blog, covering digital cartography, typography and data visualisation within the OSM community.

OSM in action

Canadian software company Parallel 42 Systems has created a web app that helps users to visit street art in Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. Motor City Murals provides walking directions that allow users to move at their own pace. Using Pytheas, an open source project dedicated to these types of tours, OpenRouteService, and self-collected data, Motor City Murals provides previews of murals as well as information on the artist and surrounding area. While visitors must be within a defined bounding box to receive routing, all of the map contents are available regardless of location.
The Lucky Map tool, on the Yakumoin website, helps users determine auspicious directions and locations based on Nine Star Ki astrology, allowing them to search for shrines, temples, and other significant sites, while providing features for registering and customising personal points of interest.

Software

[1] Thomas Skowron blogged about OpenStreetMap Calendar, software he started developing five years ago, which weeklyOSM includes in each issue (see below). Thank you and congratulations!
Jake Coppinger has explored how urban intersections can be optimised for safety and efficiency through data analysis and innovative design. The project presents preliminary findings on traffic patterns, accident rates, and potential improvements. It also proposes solutions such as improved signal timing and redesigned layouts to reduce congestion and accidents (we reported earlier).
David Larlet discussed the upcoming release of uMap 3, which includes key features such as real-time collaboration and remote data importers. These enhancements aim to improve map editing and data integration, and were supported by NLnet sponsorship and community feedback. The update also brings a new user documentation website and various interface improvements.
Mapswipe is now available in your browser. You can check out the training deck on Google Presentations.
The OSM WordPress plugin, which is currently under temporary review, had previously allowed users to view geotagged posts, create maps, and integrate geospatial data into WordPress sites.

Programming

Luuk van der Meer’s presentation at useR! 2024 introduced the sfnetworks package for analysing OpenStreetMap (OSM)-based road networks using R. The package integrates spatial networks and provides tools for advanced spatial analysis.
osm4vr, written by ctrlw, allows users to explore the world in virtual reality using OpenStreetMap data. The tool supports static and dynamic loading of OSM data, including building footprints and simple 3D structures, and uses the A-Frame framework for VR experiences. It allows users to fly around VR environments and includes a search function for locating places.

Releases

The latest July release of Organic Maps introduced two major features funded by the NGI0 Entrust Fund: improved address lookup in the US using TIGER data and improved text rendering for various scripts including Devanagari, Arabic and Thai. Other updates included new fonts, improved map interaction and fixes for Android and iOS.
The OSM Apps Catalog now supports Wikidata and, together with the OSM wiki and taginfo, over 1000 unique apps using OSM data are documented.
GraphHopper has introduced a user-friendly update to its mapping service, ‘Route Planning Step-by-Step’, which allows walkers and cyclists to easily create and modify routes by right-clicking or long-pressing on the map to set start and end points and add additional locations. This update improved route customisation directly on desktop and mobile devices, making the planning process more intuitive and flexible.

Did you know …

… FieldMaps provides two types of global edge-matched subnational boundaries datasets? The ‘Humanitarian’ dataset uses OCHA Common Operational Datasets and geoBoundaries, integrated with OpenStreetMap for edge matching, for humanitarian use. The ‘Open’ dataset uses only geoBoundaries for clear licensing; it is suitable for academic or commercial use, with the US Geological Survey used for edge matching. Both datasets require attribution and open access to derived works.
… osm-api-js is a JavaScript/TypeScript wrapper for the OpenStreetMap API? It provides features such as automatic conversion of OSM XML to JSON, OAuth 2 authentication, and compatibility with both Node.js and browser environments. This library provides various methods to interact with OSM data, including access to features, changesets, user data and more, and aims to simplify the integration of OSM functionality into applications.
… OpenCage provides educational content on geocoding, OpenStreetMap, open data and unique geographic facts, hosts monthly geo quizzes and promotes its geocoding API and related services on its Geothreads blog?

OSM in the media

Simon Poole highlighted the redirection of Potlatch’s Wikipedia page to the general OpenStreetMap page, removing the article’s detailed content. This change will affect users looking for specific information about Potlatch. In addition, Tim Berners-Lee’s TED Talk highlighted the importance of open data and advocated for its global adoption and innovation potential, which resonates with the open data ethos of OpenStreetMap and its tools.

Other “geo” things

Mark Litwintschik described an AI model that extracted over 280 million building footprints from high-resolution imagery across East Asia, using 100 TB of imagery from Google Earth. He explained his setup and analysis process, highlighting the accuracy and challenges of the dataset, and includes steps for using Python and DuckDB for data handling.
A new machine learning framework developed by IIASA researchers forecasts global rooftop growth from 2020 to 2050, supporting sustainable energy planning and urban development. Using big data from millions of building footprints and other geospatial datasets, the study predicts a significant increase in rooftop area, particularly in emerging economies, highlighting the potential for rooftop solar.
The EU’s Next Generation Internet (NGI) programme, which has funded the development of open source software, is at risk of being terminated ► according to an internal document. This possibility has raised concerns among developers, such as those at Framasoft, who rely on NGI for support. Despite the current uncertainty, the EU may rebrand the initiative as ‘Open Europe Stack’ under a new programme, albeit with reduced funding and increased bureaucracy. The decision will be formalised in 2025.
OpenCage’s Mastodon #geoweirdness thread continued by focusing on the Lesser Antilles, having previously covered the Greater Antilles. The series looked at the unique and interesting geographical features of these Caribbean islands.
Paul Knightly discussed the problems with Google Maps and other driving apps, following up on a New York Times op-ed that highlighted shortcomings in these apps, such as directing drivers to unsafe or inefficient routes (we reported earlier). The conversation highlighted the need for better map data and app functionality to improve the user experience and safety.
Esri has integrated Overture Maps data into ArcGIS. This collaboration aims to improve data accuracy and support a variety of public and private sector applications, providing users with customisable map styles and new data themes.
Radar imaging has revealed an accessible cave conduit beneath the Mare Tranquillitatis (Sea of Tranquility) on the Moon. The discovery, detailed in Nature Astronomy and reported by Gizmodo, suggests the presence of a stable lunar lava tube that could provide shelter for future lunar explorers. The radar data suggests that this cave is structurally sound and could provide protection from cosmic radiation, temperature extremes and micrometeorite impacts, making it a promising candidate for future human habitation on the Moon.
Insidemap described ► a collaborative cultural project to document dry-stone dwellings in the Pyrenees region using the Wikipedra database, a cross-border initiative to catalogue these structures. The project uses various methods, including aerial photography and field verification, to map and preserve these historic structures, with plans to expand the data and improve public access through platforms such as uMap.
Explore the new QGIS website, which went live on Friday 12 July.
Bayerischer Rundfunk ► highlighted the security risks posed by the trade in location data, showing how detailed movement profiles of individuals, including military and intelligence personnel, can be reconstructed ► using data from smartphone apps. Their investigation reveals significant vulnerabilities, particularly for sensitive locations such as military bases, and highlighted the need for stricter regulations and awareness to prevent spying through commercially available data.
TomTom and Microsoft have partnered ► to create AI-enabled smart maps, with the aim of improving navigation and geospatial services by integrating Microsoft’s AI technologies with TomTom’s map data to provide more accurate, responsive and intelligent mapping solutions for various applications.
Sen Kushida discussed ► the historical significance of abandoned railway lines in Japan, highlighting their unique features and the renewed importance of rail freight due to the current shortage of truck and bus drivers.

Upcoming Events

Where	What	Online	When
Łódź	State of the Map Europe 2024		2024-07-18 – 2024-07-21
Preet Vihar Tehsil	10th OSM Delhi Mapping Meetup		2024-07-21
München	Mapathon @ TU Munich		2024-07-22
Richmond	MapRVA – Bike Lane Surveying & Mapping Meetup		2024-07-23
Stadtgebiet Bremen	Bremer Mappertreffen		2024-07-22
San Jose	South Bay Map Night	✓	2024-07-24
Berlin	OSM-Verkehrswende #61	✓	2024-07-23
	[Online] OpenStreetMap Foundation board of Directors – public videomeeting		2024-07-25
Wien	72. Wiener OSM-Stammtisch		2024-07-25
Lübeck	144. OSM-Stammtisch Lübeck und Umgebung		2024-07-25
Gambir	Mapping Talks: OpenSource WebGis dengan OpenStreetMap		2024-07-26
Bengaluru	GeoMeetup Bengaluru		2024-07-27
Potsdam	Radnetz Brandenburg Mapping Abend #8	✓	2024-07-30
Ondres	Panoramax Partie – Pays Basque Sud Landes		2024-07-31
Düsseldorf	Düsseldorfer OpenStreetMap-Treffen (online)		2024-07-31
Brazaville	State of the Map Congo		2024-08-01 – 2024-08-03
	OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting		2024-08-02
中正區	OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #67		2024-08-05