OpenStreetMap (OSM): An honest open source map database
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is an international, crowd-sourced project to create a free map of the world – since 2004, thousands of volunteers have input data about roads, railways, rivers and yes, desire paths.
“People like you and me have mapped 35,000-plus paths as desire paths or informal paths worldwide, including around 1,500 mapped in the UK,” says Dorothea Kazazi, a communications volunteer for OSM. Kazazi explains that desire paths should be “reasonably permanent” to be added to the map, but says anyone can add one at any time. “We map the world as it is,” she says."
According to OSM, most of the UK’s desire paths are in Nottingham and Leeds. It’s unclear if this is because there are actually more desire paths in these areas, or if these locations are simply home to avid OSM users. Kazazi puts me in touch with a Nottingham man who has documented a large number of desire paths, but unfortunately he declines to explain his motivations."
So what is OSM?
OpenStreetMap UK (OSMUK) is a community and non-profit organisation that represents all mappers in the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Channel Islands as well as the interests of the map itself. We hope to share this with you and to help you to become part of the OpenStreetMap family.
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a collaborative project where individuals and organisations contribute to a free and editable map of the world. It is rich in local knowledge and includes an incredible level of detail that continues to grow every day. Although it is possible to use OpenStreetMap just as a map, it becomes really useful when treated as a database
What if a map could be built with the collective knowledge of thousands of individuals and organisations? With OpenStreetMap it can. We pride ourselves in the richness of the data collected by thousands of partners all experienced in their own fields. From individuals who add local knowledge to the map in their home-town, to organisations from across the public and private sector who add information collected from their day to day activities, OpenStreetMap includes the full range of contributors. These same organisations, and many more, also benefit from using the map and the underlying data. From apps to movies, OpenStreetMap is being used everywhere.
Most maps you think of as free actually have legal or technical restrictions on their use, holding back people and organisations from using them in creative, productive, or unexpected ways. They are often also supported by advertising. OpenStreetMap is different – we believe that you should be able to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt our data with minimal fuss. With thousands of partners all helping to keep the map up to date, OpenStreetMap need not advertise. What is shown on the map reflects what is on the ground and we will never give greater precedence to paid advertisers.
