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Open map data, community mapping, editable world map, GPS traces, local knowledge, Open Database License, OSM Foundation, map tiles, geocoding, routing, and geographic data infrastructure

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a collaborative mapping website and open geographic database where volunteers create, edit, verify, and share map data used by websites, apps, researchers, businesses, and humanitarian projects.

Core idea
OpenStreetMap provides open map data that people can use, improve, and adapt with attribution and license responsibilities.
Founded
The OpenStreetMap wiki says Steve Coast founded OpenStreetMap in 2004, and the OpenStreetMap Foundation was established in 2006.
Built by
Its map is maintained by contributors who add and verify roads, trails, shops, transit, buildings, addresses, and other geographic details.
OpenStreetMap is a collaborative open map project and geographic database maintained by contributors around the world.View image on original site

What OpenStreetMap is

OpenStreetMap is a collaborative map website and open geographic database. On OpenStreetMap.org, people can search the map, inspect places, export data, trace GPS routes, and edit geographic information so roads, paths, buildings, businesses, transit features, and local details become part of a shared map.

OpenStreetMap homepage screenshot showing the interactive map interface, search box, navigation links, zoom controls, and North America map view.
OpenStreetMap homepage screenshot showing the interactive map interface with search, navigation links, zoom controls, sharing tools, attribution, and a North America map view.

Open map data

The project is not only a visual map. Its deeper value is the database underneath: roads, paths, waterways, buildings, addresses, boundaries, points of interest, and tags that describe what those things are. Developers and organizations can use that data to build maps, routing tools, research projects, logistics systems, and location-aware applications.

Community mapping

OpenStreetMap depends on contributors who know places, survey streets, trace imagery, upload GPS data, fix errors, and debate tagging conventions. That local knowledge can make the map unusually detailed in places where commercial maps are incomplete, slow to update, or focused on different priorities.

Licensing and attribution

OpenStreetMap data is open data, but it is not a no-conditions free-for-all. The project requires attribution and uses the Open Database License for the main database. People who use or adapt the data need to understand credit, share-alike obligations, tile-use limits, and the difference between map data, rendered tiles, and software.

Tools around the map

The ecosystem includes editors such as iD and JOSM, search tools such as Nominatim, routing engines, map tile styles, humanitarian mapping workflows, data extracts, and APIs. The public website is the most visible face, but much of OpenStreetMap’s importance comes from this surrounding infrastructure.

Strengths and limits

OpenStreetMap can be exceptionally rich where contributors are active, but coverage and tagging quality vary by region and feature type. It also faces operational limits: public servers and tiles are shared community resources, so heavy commercial use usually requires separate hosting, paid providers, or careful compliance with usage policies.

Why it matters

OpenStreetMap gives the web a public, editable alternative to closed map databases. It supports civic projects, disaster response, accessibility work, research, navigation, outdoor mapping, and small applications that need geographic data without depending entirely on one proprietary mapping company.