Areal delineation of home regions from contribution and editing patterns in OpenStreetMap

October 19, 2017 - Dennis Zielstra, Hartwig H. Hochmair, Pascal Neis, Francesco Tonini

Journal or Book Title: International Journal of Geo-Information

Keywords: volunteered geographic information (VGI); OpenStreetMap; areal delineation; contribution patterns; clustering

Volume/Issue: 3(4)

Page Number(s): 1211-1233

Year Published: 2014

The type of data an individual contributor adds to OpenStreetMap (OSM) varies by region. The local knowledge of a data contributor allows for the collection and editing of detailed features such as small trails, park benches or fire hydrants, as well as adding attribute information that can only be accessed locally. As opposed to this, satellite imagery that is provided as background images in OSM data editors, such as ID, Potlatch or JOSM, facilitates the contribution of less detailed data through on-screen digitizing, oftentimes for areas the contributor is less familiar with. Knowing whether an area is part of a contributor’s home region or not can therefore be a useful predictor of OSM data quality for a geographic region. This research explores the editing history of nodes and ways for 13 highly active OSM members within a two-tiered clustering process to delineate an individual mapper’s home region from remotely mapped areas. The findings are evaluated against those found with a previously introduced method which determines a contributor’s home region solely based on spatial clustering of created nodes. The comparison shows that both methods are able to delineate similar home regions for the 13 contributors with some differences.

DOI: 10.3390/ijgi3041211

Type of Publication: Journal Article

You Might Also Be Interested In

Accessibility Questions:

For questions about accessibility and/or if you need additional accommodations for a specific document, please send an email to ANR Communications & Marketing at anrcommunications@anr.msu.edu.

Tag List
  • areal delineation,
  • center for systems integration and sustainability,
  • clustering,
  • contribution patterns,
  • openstreetmap,
  • volunteered geographic information (vgi)
Michigan State University
  • Spartans Will.
  • © Michigan State University

MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer, committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential.

Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Quentin Tyler, Director, MSU Extension, East Lansing, MI 48824. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.

The 4-H Name and Emblem have special protections from Congress, protected by code 18 USC 707.

We comply with the Federal Trade Commission 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).