OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a global collaborative map dataset covering roads, buildings, land use, waterways, points of interest, administrative boundaries, and more. It is available freely under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).
Portal page: OpenStreetMap Portal — service types, access patterns, osmnx usage, Geofabrik downloads.
OSM wiki Map Features: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Map_features
Coverage by Leaf
| Leaf | OSM Feature Class | Primary Tags | Geometry | Geofabrik Layer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buildings | Buildings | building=* | Polygon | gis_osm_buildings_a_free_1 |
| Transport Networks | Roads / Railways | highway=*, railway=* | LineString | gis_osm_roads_free_1, gis_osm_railways_free_1 |
| Administrative Units | Boundaries | boundary=administrative | Polygon (relation) | — (use Overpass/osmnx) |
| Freshwater Bodies | Waterways / Water | waterway=*, natural=water | LineString, Polygon | gis_osm_waterways_free_1, gis_osm_water_a_free_1 |
| Geographical Names | Places | place=*, name=* | Point | gis_osm_places_free_1 |
| Nature Protection Areas | Protected areas | boundary=protected_area | Polygon | — (use Overpass) |
| Forest Cover | Natural / Land use | landuse=forest, natural=wood | Polygon | gis_osm_landuse_a_free_1, gis_osm_natural_a_free_1 |
| Agriculture | Land use | landuse=farmland, landuse=meadow | Polygon | gis_osm_landuse_a_free_1 |
| Business Locations | POIs | amenity=*, shop=*, office=* | Point, Polygon | gis_osm_pois_free_1 |
| Energy Infrastructure | Power | power=* | Point, LineString | — (use Overpass) |
| Habitat Extent | Natural areas | natural=wetland, natural=heath | Polygon | gis_osm_natural_a_free_1 |
| Populated Areas and Settlements | Places | place=city|town|village|hamlet | Point | gis_osm_places_free_1 |
OSM Tag Schema
OSM uses a flat key–value tagging system. Key references:
- Map Features wiki: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Map_features — master tag index
- TagInfo: https://taginfo.openstreetmap.org — tag usage statistics globally
- Overpass Turbo: https://overpass-turbo.eu — interactive query builder and visualiser
Access Methods Summary
| Method | Best For | Tool |
|---|---|---|
Geofabrik .shp.zip | Bulk regional extract, offline analysis | Direct download |
Geofabrik .osm.pbf | Full-fidelity extract for processing | osmium, pyosmium |
| osmnx (Overpass under hood) | Python network/feature queries | osmnx |
| Raw Overpass query | Low-level debugging, reproducibility | curl, requests |
| XYZ tile service | Basemap rendering | Leaflet, QGIS, MapLibre |