Evolution of humanitarian mapping within the OpenStreetMap Community

Room: Track 2
Academic Track

Sunday, 16:30 UTC
Duration: 20 minutes (plus Q&A)

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  • Marcel Reinmuth (Heidelberg Institute of Geoinformation Technology, Heidelberg University)
  • Benjamin Herfort (Heidelberg Institute of Geoinformation Technology, Heidelberg University)
  • Jochen Stier (Heidelberg Institute of Geoinformation Technology, Heidelberg University)
  • Alina Klerings (Heidelberg Institute of Geoinformation Technology, Heidelberg University)

Since 2010 organized humanitarian mapping has evolved as a constant and growing element of the global OpenStreetMap (OSM) community. We analyse the history of humanitarian mapping using OpenStreetMap History and OSM Tasking Manager (tasks.hotosm.org) data. We conduct a comprehensive quantitative analysis on a global scale and long term perspective to depict more than just snapshots of individual events. Results show that in regard to edits, users, projects, geographic diversity, almost all of these have experienced linear growth. But regarding user commitment and validation efforts we conclude that the humanitarian mapping community still faces huge challenges to achieve sustainability.