Dataset

Global crowd-sourced map & points of interest

Free & Open Data Bulk download API 1 source

A global, contributor-built map of roads, buildings and points of interest with fine-grained tagging, released as free planet extracts and regional Geofabrik files, and used widely as the base layer for location analysis.

Dataset card

OpenStreetMap provides a global, crowd-sourced map of roads, buildings, and points of interest distributed under the Open Database License. It is one of the most widely used open geographic datasets available to analysts.

What this dataset contains

The dataset covers the worldwide OpenStreetMap basemap, including road networks, building footprints, administrative boundaries, land use, and tagged points of interest such as shops, restaurants, and amenities. Content is contributed and maintained by a global volunteer community, with a formal core element schema that records tags as key/value pairs rather than a fixed list of thematic columns. Coverage is globally comprehensive in principle, though density and freshness vary by region.

Structure and fields

OpenStreetMap is distributed as OSM XML or PBF files composed of three primitive element types: nodes (point features), ways (line and polygon features), and relations (collections such as multipolygons and route networks). Each element carries a stable numeric id, a version stamp, and a free-form tags block (for example, highway=primary or amenity=restaurant), plus geometry where applicable. Because tags are open-ended, downstream users commonly load the data into PostgreSQL/PostGIS using the osm2pgsql schema, which materializes tags into named fields and columns keyed by OSM tag.

How analysts use it

Hedge funds and real-estate analysts use OpenStreetMap to build or validate proprietary location datasets, for example counting points of interest within a catchment area, mapping retail footprints, or constructing drive-time isochrones for site selection. Logistics and supply-chain teams use the road and address layers for last-mile routing, geocoding, and trade-area modeling. The open license and global reach make it a common baseline layer that alternative-data vendors enrich with transaction, mobility, or credit-card overlays.

Documentation & references 2
  1. OpenStreetMap/Global crowd-sourced map & points of interest: listing on the provider website
  2. OpenStreetMap: official website

Further reading

All guides
  • How funds evaluate alternative data vendorsEvaluating alternative-data providers: research fit, provenance, historical timing, permitted use and the evidence needed for an informed purchasing decision.
  • Open vs commercial alternative dataWhat free and open datasets can and cannot do: where public data rivals paid panels, where it cannot compete, and how open sources fit a professional research workflow.
  • Alternative data for hedge fundsA practical guide to alternative data for hedge funds: team design, budget sequencing, infrastructure, vendor portfolio construction and the metrics that show whether the program creates investment value.
  • Free alternative data sourcesThe practical list of free alternative-data sources for investors: public filings, official statistics, satellite and earth observation, on-chain data, web archives and open registries, what each covers, what it costs in engineering effort, and where free data falls short.

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