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E. Eros
traditionally operated on a retail model of distribution and often do not release their
data for free and open use (Goodchild and Glennon 2010).
OpenStreetMap (OSM) has greatly improved this situation for humanitarians.
Often described as “the Wikipedia of maps” (Heinzelman and Waters 2010), OSM is
a free online map and geospatial database whose data can be viewed, edited, downloaded, and used by anyone with an Internet connection. While there are several other
geographically focused examples of what academics refer to as Web 2.0 (Vossen and
Hagemann 2007), crowdsourcing (Howe 2008), or volunteered geographic information (Goodchild 2007), OSM is the most prominent platform, with a community of
over two million registered users (OSM Contributors 2016). Data quality and quantity vary by region, but previous studies of locations such as the UK (Haklay 2010),
Ireland (Ciepłuch et al. 2010), France (Girres and Touya 2010), and Iran (Forghani
and Delavar 2014) confirmed that the data are generally of high quality.
OSM plays an important role for many humanitarian organizations as their primary source for base map data and primary platform for new data creation. At the
time of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, for example, only rudimentary maps were widely
available. Within hours of the earthquake, over 600 OSM users around the world
began rapidly tracing satellite imagery to create a detailed map of the country, which
disaster response and relief agencies used as an important tool in relief and recovery
efforts—both in the immediate aftermath and in the years to come (Soden and Palen
2014; Zook et al. 2010). A non-profit organization called the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) was formed as a result. HOT coordinates the creation and
distribution of mapping resources to assist humanitarians responding to crises and
disasters around the world (Neis and Zielstra 2014). The group played a key role in
organizing similar mapping efforts after the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
(Palen et al. 2015), the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak (Cassano 2014), the 2015
Nepal earthquake (Sneed 2015), and countless other small-scale disasters and for
communities at risk.
In addition to post-disaster mapping, OSM has also acted as a platform for mapping disaster-prone communities in vulnerable areas. Map Kibera led to the grassroots
mapping of Kenya’s biggest slum community (Hagen 2011). HOT launched a largescale community-based effort to map Jakarta and other parts of earthquake-prone
Indonesia (Soden and Palen 2014). A World Bank Open Cities project prompted
detailed mapping of the central Kathmandu Valley, which led to the creation of a
local non-profit, Kathmandu Living Labs (Ibid.). These efforts have been highly successful in building communities of skilled, engaged OSM contributors who generated
valuable data, which played a key role to responders following floods in Indonesia
and the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Despite these successes, the communities home to billions of people remain “off
the map”. Because of the digital divide and differences in levels of development,
geographic information “is usually least available where it is most needed” (Sui et al.
2013: 5). For the humanitarian community, further efforts are needed to preemptively
generate baseline data before major crises occur. Recognizing this need, the American
Red Cross, in partnership with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), the
British Red Cross, and Médecins Sans Frontières UK, launched an innovative project
E. Eros
traditionally operated on a retail model of distribution and often do not release their
data for free and open use (Goodchild and Glennon 2010).
OpenStreetMap (OSM) has greatly improved this situation for humanitarians.
Often described as “the Wikipedia of maps” (Heinzelman and Waters 2010), OSM is
a free online map and geospatial database whose data can be viewed, edited, downloaded, and used by anyone with an Internet connection. While there are several other
geographically focused examples of what academics refer to as Web 2.0 (Vossen and
Hagemann 2007), crowdsourcing (Howe 2008), or volunteered geographic information (Goodchild 2007), OSM is the most prominent platform, with a community of
over two million registered users (OSM Contributors 2016). Data quality and quantity vary by region, but previous studies of locations such as the UK (Haklay 2010),
Ireland (Ciepłuch et al. 2010), France (Girres and Touya 2010), and Iran (Forghani
and Delavar 2014) confirmed that the data are generally of high quality.
OSM plays an important role for many humanitarian organizations as their primary source for base map data and primary platform for new data creation. At the
time of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, for example, only rudimentary maps were widely
available. Within hours of the earthquake, over 600 OSM users around the world
began rapidly tracing satellite imagery to create a detailed map of the country, which
disaster response and relief agencies used as an important tool in relief and recovery
efforts—both in the immediate aftermath and in the years to come (Soden and Palen
2014; Zook et al. 2010). A non-profit organization called the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) was formed as a result. HOT coordinates the creation and
distribution of mapping resources to assist humanitarians responding to crises and
disasters around the world (Neis and Zielstra 2014). The group played a key role in
organizing similar mapping efforts after the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
(Palen et al. 2015), the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak (Cassano 2014), the 2015
Nepal earthquake (Sneed 2015), and countless other small-scale disasters and for
communities at risk.
In addition to post-disaster mapping, OSM has also acted as a platform for mapping disaster-prone communities in vulnerable areas. Map Kibera led to the grassroots
mapping of Kenya’s biggest slum community (Hagen 2011). HOT launched a largescale community-based effort to map Jakarta and other parts of earthquake-prone
Indonesia (Soden and Palen 2014). A World Bank Open Cities project prompted
detailed mapping of the central Kathmandu Valley, which led to the creation of a
local non-profit, Kathmandu Living Labs (Ibid.). These efforts have been highly successful in building communities of skilled, engaged OSM contributors who generated
valuable data, which played a key role to responders following floods in Indonesia
and the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Despite these successes, the communities home to billions of people remain “off
the map”. Because of the digital divide and differences in levels of development,
geographic information “is usually least available where it is most needed” (Sui et al.
2013: 5). For the humanitarian community, further efforts are needed to preemptively
generate baseline data before major crises occur. Recognizing this need, the American
Red Cross, in partnership with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), the
British Red Cross, and Médecins Sans Frontières UK, launched an innovative project