The road map or the whole map. OSM in geographical research.
07-19, 16:20–16:30 (Poland), Room CA4

OpenStreet map is increasingly becoming an intermediary between us and the real world. We use a version of simplified reality of points, lines and relationships processed by volunteers. We ask a rhetorical question. Given the increasing density of information, could OSM be used for scientific research? Of course, this is happening, but could it be possible to ensure that at least small, compact areas - national parks, some specific spaces closed by borders - receive information as accurate as possible thanks to OSM? We tried it and we want to share some observations on this subject.


In our presentation, we will present attempts to work with materials relating to various elements of the geographical environment in the OSM world. Being aware of the limitations that the tag system may impose, we tried to achieve the best possible results of our work. We collected information on the edge of the Arctic - in the village of St. Nicholas near Rovaniemi, in Croatian Dalmatia on the Peljesac peninsula, on a half-kilometer section of the Moldavian Danube, as well as in the Polish Bieszczady and Beskid mountains, and on the Masurian lakes. Field work is still ongoing, as is the OSM update. However, we already have a lot of thoughts. We are sure that OSM can be supplemented with information that would allow the creation of basic thematic maps used in physical geography, e.g. geomorphological or hydrological maps, or building maps #D in socio-economic geography and spatial management. Some maps, of course, require additional data, e.g. hypsometry , but this is definitely a good direction in providing a universal map for a specific, small area. Over time, an increasingly larger area of the globe will probably be filled with dense spatial information from OSM. And the ultimate goal is a somewhat lazy effort to collect all spatial data in one place.