Intro to OpenStreetMap

The Wikipedia of Google Maps

Created by Matthew Cengia / @mattcen

Who am I

Computer Scientist
Linux Systems Adminstrator
Playing with Linux and open source since 2005
Cyber IT Solutions (cyber.com.au)
Computers in Prisons (PrisonPC.com)
Scout Leader
Mapping Hobbyist
Excitable, enthusiastic, tin-foil-hat-wearing geek

What is OpenStreetMap?

(OpenStreetMap.org)

What is OpenStreetMap?

(osmand.net)

What is OpenStreetMap?

(leafletjs.com, mapbox.com)

What is OpenStreetMap?

(hipstermelbourne.org)

What is OpenStreetMap?


             <way id="22820458" visible="true" version="6"
             changeset="15666374" timestamp="2013-04-09T13:51:05Z"
             user="Canley" uid="57437">
              <nd ref="245537990"/>
              [...]
              <nd ref="245537990"/>
              <tag k="addr:city" v="Melbourne"/>
              <tag k="addr:housenumber" v="328"/>
              <tag k="addr:postcode" v="3000"/>
              <tag k="addr:street" v="Swanston Street"/>
              <tag k="amenity" v="library"/>
              <tag k="building" v="yes"/>
              <tag k="fax" v="+61 3 96394737"/>
              <tag k="landmark:name" v="No value"/>
              <tag k="name" v="State Library of Victoria"/>
              <tag k="name:fr" v="Bibliothèque d'État du Victoria"/>
              <tag k="name:zh" v="维多利亚州立图书馆"/>
              <tag k="phone" v="+61 3 86647000"/>
              <tag k="website" v="http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/"/>
             </way>

(OpenStreetMap.org)

Yeah... so... What is OpenStreetMap?

https://openstreetmap.org
Wikipedia of Google Maps
World-wide map database
Completely user-contributed
Basically unrestricted use

Cool... So what can I use it for?

Anything you like!

Trip routing
Offline smart phone access
Store maps on your hand-held GPS
Custom map tiles
Build advanced mapping websites

My local area is poorly mapped!

So fix it!

iD web-based OpenStreetMap editor

Create traces on your hand-held GPS

Create traces and update points on your smart phone

(osmand.net)

Update maps on paper!

Custom Tiles

Arbitrary attributes


           <way id="22820458" visible="true" version="6"
           changeset="15666374" timestamp="2013-04-09T13:51:05Z"
           user="Canley" uid="57437">
            <nd ref="245537990"/>
            [...]
            <nd ref="245537990"/>
            <tag k="addr:city" v="Melbourne"/>
            <tag k="addr:housenumber" v="328"/>
            <tag k="addr:postcode" v="3000"/>
            <tag k="addr:street" v="Swanston Street"/>
            <tag k="amenity" v="library"/>
            <tag k="building" v="yes"/>
            <tag k="fax" v="+61 3 96394737"/>
            <tag k="landmark:name" v="No value"/>
            <tag k="name" v="State Library of Victoria"/>
            <tag k="name:fr" v="Bibliothèque d'État du Victoria"/>
            <tag k="name:zh" v="维多利亚州立图书馆"/>
            <tag k="phone" v="+61 3 86647000"/>
            <tag k="website" v="http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/"/>
           </way>

What about Google Maps?

Google tracks you
Exporting large map segments is difficult
Can't use it offline on your PC or smart phone
Can't store it on your GPS
No custom tiles
Restrictions on usage for websites etc.
Difficult to get edits approved
You're basically working for Google

Demos and Questions

Intro to OpenStreetMap by Matthew Cengia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
https://github.com/mattcen/sfd2014-openstreetmap