OpenScienceMap: open and free vector maps for low bandwidth applications

Abstract

Maps are used for manifold tasks in ICT4D projects: to find ways, to allocate places for building measures, to identify available natural resources like lakes or forests, to map entities of interest like cadastral borders, or document the state and development of measures implemented in the field. Often it is necessary to work with always up-to date maps and to share collected knowledge with others. Outdated maps can entail wrong decisions, e.g., navigation can fail because of the seasonal unavailability of mapped ways, or can take significantly longer due to missing street network data. Incomplete or incorrect classified landuse or natural feature data can result in wrong apportionment of land. The solution to this problem are always up-to-date and updateable online-maps on mobile devices displaying the information that matters for a particular project. In many cases this information is not provided by available map services and needs to be collected and put on the map. OpenStreetMap (OSM) provides open and free geographic data collected by volunteers or donated by mapping agencies. OSM is the natural choice in ICT4D contexts, as everyone can use OSM data and can contribute any kind of spatial data to OSM.