{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T20:44:11Z","timestamp":1776113051854,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2011,12,29]],"date-time":"2011-12-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1325116800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Future Internet"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The OpenStreetMap (OSM) project is a prime example in the field of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). Worldwide, several hundred thousand people are currently contributing information to the \u201cfree\u201d geodatabase. However, the data contributions show a geographically heterogeneous pattern around the globe. Germany counts as one of the most active countries in OSM; thus, the German street network has undergone an extensive development in recent years. The question that remains is this: How does the street network perform in a relative comparison with a commercial dataset? By means of a variety of studies, we show that the difference between the OSM street network for car navigation in Germany and a comparable proprietary dataset was only 9% in June 2011. The results of our analysis regarding the entire street network showed that OSM even exceeds the information provided by the proprietary dataset by 27%. Further analyses show on what scale errors can be reckoned with in the topology of the street network, and the completeness of turn restrictions and street name information. In addition to the analyses conducted over the past few years, projections have additionally been made about the point in time by which the OSM dataset for Germany can be considered \u201ccomplete\u201d in relative comparison to a commercial dataset.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/fi4010001","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2011,12,29]],"date-time":"2011-12-29T10:51:24Z","timestamp":1325155884000},"page":"1-21","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":289,"title":["The Street Network Evolution of Crowdsourced Maps: OpenStreetMap in Germany 2007\u20132011"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"4","author":[{"given":"Pascal","family":"Neis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Geoinformatics Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Heidelberg, Berliner Street 48, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany"}]},{"given":"Dennis","family":"Zielstra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geomatics Program, University of Florida, 3205 College Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4916-9838","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alexander","family":"Zipf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geoinformatics Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Heidelberg, Berliner Street 48, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2011,12,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Anderson, P. (2007). What Is Web 2.0? Ideas, Technologies and Implications for Education., JISC."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"304","DOI":"10.1016\/j.future.2010.09.002","article-title":"Managing user-generated information in geospatial cyberinfrastructures","volume":"27","author":"Diaz","year":"2011","journal-title":"Future Gen. Comput. Syst."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Coast, S. OpenStreetMap. Workshop on Volunteered Geographic Information. Available online:."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.2481\/dsj.5.223","article-title":"Towards development of a high quality public domain global roads database","volume":"5","author":"Nelson","year":"2006","journal-title":"Data Sci. J."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"173","DOI":"10.1007\/s10708-008-9186-0","article-title":"Volunteered geographic information: future research directions motivated by critical, participatory, and feminist GIS","volume":"72","author":"Elwood","year":"2008","journal-title":"GeoJournal"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"211","DOI":"10.1007\/s10708-007-9111-y","article-title":"Citizens as sensors: The world of volunteered geography","volume":"69","author":"Goodchild","year":"2007","journal-title":"GeoJournal"},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"24","article-title":"Citizens as voluntary sensors: Spatial data infrastructure in the world of web 2.0","volume":"2","author":"Goodchild","year":"2007","journal-title":"Int. J. Spat. Data Infrastruct. Res."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Chilton, S. (2009, January 15\u201321). Crowdsourcing Is Radically Changing the Geodata Landscape: Case Study of OpenStreetMap. Proceedings of the UK 24th International Cartography Conference, Santiago, Chile."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"550","DOI":"10.1016\/j.isprsjprs.2010.06.005","article-title":"Crowdsourcing geospatial data","volume":"65","author":"Heipke","year":"2010","journal-title":"ISPRS J. Photogramm. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"524","article-title":"Mapping for the masses: Accessing web 2.0 through crowdsourcing","volume":"27","author":"Batty","year":"2008","journal-title":"Soc. Sci. Comput. Rev."},{"key":"ref_11","first-page":"315","article-title":"Crowdsourcing geodata","volume":"6","author":"Ramm","year":"2008","journal-title":"Geomatik Schweiz, G\u00e9omatique Suisse"},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"O\u2019Reilly, T. (2005). What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software, O\u2019Reilly Media."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Goodchild, M.F. (2008, January 25\u201327). Spatial Accuracy 2.0. Proceeding of the 8th International Symposium on Spatial Accuracy Assessment in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Shanghai, China."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118","DOI":"10.1080\/17489720902950366","article-title":"NeoGeography and web 2.0: Concepts, tools and applications","volume":"3","author":"Batty","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Locat. Based Serv."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1080\/17489720903146824","article-title":"NeoGeography: An extension of mainstream geography for everyone made by everyone?","volume":"3","author":"Rana","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Locat. Based Serv."},{"key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Turner, J.A. (2006). Introduction to Neogeography, O\u2019Reilly Media."},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"28","article-title":"The beginning and end of neogeography","volume":"7","author":"Walsh","year":"2008","journal-title":"GEOconnexion Int. Mag."},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"28","article-title":"Collaborative mapping\u2014How wikinomics is manifest in the geo-information economy","volume":"2","author":"Fischer","year":"2008","journal-title":"GEO Inf."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compenvurbsys.2007.12.001","article-title":"The wikification of GIS and its consequences: Or Angelina Jolie's new tattoo and the future of GIS","volume":"32","author":"Sui","year":"2008","journal-title":"Comput. Environ. Urban Syst."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"20.\tFritz, S., McCallum, I., Schill, C., Perger, C., Grillmayer, R., Achard, F., Kraxner, F., and Obersteiner, M. (2009). Geo-Wiki.Org: The use of crowdsourcing to improve global land cover. Remote Sens., 1, 345\u2013354.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs1030345"},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Gartner, G., and Ortag, F. (2010). Advances in Location-Based Services, Springer."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Neis, P., and Zipf, A. (2008). OpenRouteService.org is Three Times \u201cOpen\u201d: Combining OpenSource, OpenLS and OpenStreetMap, GIS Research UK."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"496","DOI":"10.1016\/j.compenvurbsys.2010.05.001","article-title":"Generating web-based 3D city models from OpenStreetMap: The current situation in Germany","volume":"34","author":"Over","year":"2010","journal-title":"Comput. Environ. Urban Syst."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Nielsen, J. Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute, Alertbox. Available online:."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Ramm, F. Crowdsourcing Geodata. Society of Cartographers Summer School, Southampton. Available online:."},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Ramm, F. Krautsourcing 2.0 Beta - The State of Germany. State of the Map, Amsterdam. Available online:."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"82","DOI":"10.1080\/17489720902950374","article-title":"NeoGeography and the nature of geographic expertise","volume":"3","author":"Goodchild","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Locat. Based Serv."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"137","DOI":"10.1007\/s10708-008-9188-y","article-title":"The credibility of volunteered geographic information","volume":"72","author":"Flanagin","year":"2008","journal-title":"GeoJournal"},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Mau\u00e9, P., and Schade, S. (2008, January 5\u20138). Quality of Geographic Information Patchworks. Proceedings of AGILE, Girona, Spain."},{"key":"ref_30","unstructured":"Ather, A. (2009). A Quality Analysis of OpenStreetMap Data. [M.E. Thesis, University College London]."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"682","DOI":"10.1068\/b35097","article-title":"How good is volunteered geographical information? A comparative study of OpenStreetMap and ordnance survey datasets","volume":"37","author":"Haklay","year":"2010","journal-title":"Environ. Plan. B"},{"key":"ref_32","unstructured":"Zielstra, D., and Zipf, A. (2010, January 10\u201314). A Comparative Study of Proprietary Geodata and Volunteered Geographic Information for Germany. Proceedings of 13th AGILE International Conference on Geographic Information Science, Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal."},{"key":"ref_33","first-page":"148","article-title":"Wie gut ist open street map? Zur methodik eines automatisierten objektbasierten vergleiches der strassennetze von OSM und NAVTEQ in Deutschland","volume":"4","author":"Ludwig","year":"2010","journal-title":"GIS Sci."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"435","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-9671.2010.01203.x","article-title":"Quality assessment of the French OpenStreetMap dataset","volume":"14","author":"Girres","year":"2010","journal-title":"Trans. GIS"},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"29","article-title":"Digital street data: Free versus proprietary","volume":"25","author":"Zielstra","year":"2011","journal-title":"GIM Int."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.3141\/2217-18","article-title":"A comparative study of pedestrian accessibility to transit stations using free and proprietary network data","volume":"2217","author":"Zielstra","year":"2011","journal-title":"Transp. Res. Rec.: J. Transp. Res. Board"},{"key":"ref_37","unstructured":"Zielstra, D., and Hochmair, H. (2012, January 22\u201326). H. Comparison of Shortest Path Lengths for Pedestrian Routing in Street Networks Using Free and Proprietary Data. Proceedings of Transportation Research Board - 91st Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, USA."},{"key":"ref_38","unstructured":"Haklay, M., and Ellul, C. Completeness in volunteered geographical information\u2014the evolution of OpenStreetMap coverage in England (2008-2009). J. Spat. Inf. Sci., submitted for  publication."},{"key":"ref_39","unstructured":"Guptill, S.C., and Morrison, J.L. (1995). Elements of Spatial Data Quality, Elsevier."},{"key":"ref_40","unstructured":"Oort, P.A.J. (2006). Spatial data quality: From Description to Application. [Ph.D. Thesis, Wageningen University]."},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"Chen, H., and Walter, V. (June,  15\u201319). Quality Inspection and Quality Improvement of Large Spatial Datasets. Proceedings of the GSDI 11 World Conference: Spatial Data Infrastructure Convergence: Building SDI Bridges to Address Global Challenges, Rotterdam, The Netherlands."},{"key":"ref_42","unstructured":"Schmitz S., \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t , Neis P., \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t , and Zipf, A. (November, January ). New Applications Based on Collaborative Geodata\u2014the Case of Routing. Proceedings of XXVIII INCA International Congress on Collaborative Mapping and Space Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India."},{"key":"ref_43","unstructured":"Brando, C., and Bucher, B. (2010, January 10\u201314). Quality in User-Generated Spatial Content: A Matter of Specifications. Proceedings of the 13th AGILE International Conference on Geographic Information Science, Guimar\u00e3es, Portugal."}],"container-title":["Future Internet"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1999-5903\/4\/1\/1\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T21:58:32Z","timestamp":1760219912000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1999-5903\/4\/1\/1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2011,12,29]]},"references-count":43,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2012,3]]}},"alternative-id":["fi4010001"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/fi4010001","relation":{},"ISSN":["1999-5903"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1999-5903","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2011,12,29]]}}}