About

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a collaborative project maintained by volunteers around the world. Anyone can contribute data. OSM uses a tagging system to classify places.

• Ownership & License: Data from OSM is free to use under the Open Database License (ODbL). This means you can use, modify, and share the data—as long as you credit OpenStreetMap and share any improvements under the same license.

Example query: Overpass Turbo

Overpass Turbo allows you to run structured searches in OSM. Here’s the map used in the workshop: https://overpass-turbo.eu/s/24×4
And here’s the query used in the workshop:

// @name Cultural sites in current map

[out:json][timeout:25];

(
  nwr["tourism"="gallery"]({{bbox}});
  nwr["amenity"="arts_centre"]({{bbox}});
  nwr["amenity"="theatre"]({{bbox}});
  nwr["amenity"="music_venue"]({{bbox}});
  nwr["amenity"="community_centre"]["community_centre"="culture"]({{bbox}});
);

out geom;

This query uses keys like “amenity” and “tourism”, combined with values like “gallery”, “theatre”, or “music_venue”.

How to explore other tags

Tags (specific combinations, e.g. amenity=library):
https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/tags

Use Taginfo to discover related tags:

Keys (categories like amenity, tourism, leisure, building):
https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org/keys

Overture Maps

Overture Maps is a newer initiative led by the Linux Foundation, with backing from major tech companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.

• Ownership & License: Overture is also open and uses Community Data License Agreement (CDLA). While the platform is backed by corporations, the data remains free to use, remix, and redistribute.
• Data structure: Overture defines places using structured categories. You can browse them here:
  Overture categories CSV

Example interface: STARTUP Map

The STARTUP Map uses Overture data with filters for browsing cultural organisations.

Mapping interfaces

Both Overpass Turbo and the custom interface for Overture Maps built for STARTUP are using Leaflet.js, a open-source JavaScript library for interactive maps. Leaflet is commonly used in open-source mapping projects.