B
NARRATIVE VALUE
Certainty
●●○ medium
ABCDEFG
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
As of: 2026-Q4Status: ActiveCeiling reason: No confirmed −
History2026-Q4BHistory grows each quarter
OpenStreetMap Foundation: A map of the world anyone can use, drawn by the public. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q4; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
In 2004 Steve Coast, a graduate student in London, was frustrated that British maps were state copyright and could not be reused freely. He strapped a GPS unit to his bicycle, rode the streets and began drawing his own. OpenStreetMap grew out of that into a map of the world that anyone can edit and anyone can reuse. The OpenStreetMap Foundation, set up in 2006, does not own the map: it maintains the open license (ODbL), the servers and the community processes that keep the data free.
A map is not lines on paper; it is the precondition for relief. After a disaster, volunteers around the world trace buildings and roads from satellite imagery, and the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, UN agencies and local NGOs work from what they draw. According to a peer-reviewed study, humanitarian mapping has added 60.5 million buildings and 4.5 million kilometers of road to the map — roughly 14% of all buildings in OpenStreetMap. Settlements that were invisible because no map existed come within reach of aid.
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
When floods hit Nepal in 2026, 338 experienced mappers traced buildings from satellite imagery within 24 hours, 799 volunteers validated the results through MapSwipe, and 20,100 buildings were added to OpenStreetMap. Relief organizations worked that same day from a map that had been updated hours earlier. People far away tracing roofs on a screen at home add up to the precondition for rescue. Source type: program-official (HOT)
Source nature: Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team / T2 program-official. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- Humanitarian mapping has added 60.5 million buildings and 4.5 million kilometers of road to OpenStreetMap (around 14% of all buildings on the map). Used by the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières, UN agencies and others.T1 academic / peer-reviewed / Nature Scientific Reports
Watching (unconfirmed; not counted in the assessment)- Dependence on donations and volunteers
- the balance between commercial use of the data and contribution back to it
Looking ahead (not included in the assessment)- Expanding community-led mapping to cover under-mapped regions.
A second look
The effect reaches people through the organizations that use the map, which makes attribution difficult. If editors cluster in cities and wealthy countries, the blank spaces on the map become blank spaces in assistance. The question is whether the community keeps asking who is drawing, and who is not being drawn.
Sources
+N1Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team｜2026｜🔗 + effectNature Scientific Reports｜The evolution of humanitarian mapping within the OpenStreetMap community｜2021｜🔗
How to read this assessment
A Independently verified +, with no confirmed −
B Leans +, with independent backing
C Mixed. A confirmed − sets the ceiling, or much is unverified
D A serious confirmed − sets the ceiling
E A serious − reaches the core of the organization
F Serious and systemic, with little redeeming +
G Only extreme cases
Out of scope An entity whose core purpose is illegal
On hold Independent evidence is scarce on both + and −
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q4 | Back to top