OpenStreetMap
- Date
- 2004 · confidence high
- Place
- London, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- Steve Coast and the OpenStreetMap community
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What it is
A free, editable world map built by volunteers using GPS traces and aerial imagery, published under an open licence. It is the largest collaborative geographic database and is used in apps, humanitarian aid and administrations.
The project began at University College London; Steve Coast started it in 2004 and the community has developed it since.
What it led to
- humanitarian mapping after the 2010 Haiti earthquake
- open-source mobility and navigation databases