Visual Comparison of Web Map Changes of Openstreetmap and Commercial Online-Map Providers: A Research Note

Maps always have and always will have blank spots, but maps are no longer the privilege of paper; they have been moved to the digital environment. How can digital maps fill the empty spaces in the current online and crowdsourcing mapping era? In this paper the authors pose several questions and in the same breath they are aware that some of those questions may not be answered. The paper presents the research note with use of visual comparison method, that may not provide concrete results, but merely a glipse of the situation Who does cover certain areas better – OpenStreetMap or commercial providers? And what does “better” coverage actually mean? Mapping the unmapped is not only a question of spatial literacy, but also part of the GeoParticipation and democratisation process taking place within the digital spatial industry of today. The authors focus their research on three areas (Kibera, Minsk and North Korea). The research covers 18 months of data for three major commercial providers and for one collaborative platform – OpenStreetMap.