FOSS4G 2022 general tracks

Many definitions and criteria available, explored and investigated for OpenStreetMap (OSM) data quality are pertinent to certain datasets, which are usually authoritative or controlled datasets. Several studies have used these measures successfully for OSM but this also makes the quality of the OSM dependent on the development of these datasets. This dependency exacerbates when such datasets are not available or condition to ephemerality. Unavailability and temporal non-reliability of controlled datasets are some of the reasons OSM data quality is still a concern. OSM is an ever-evolving digital space that has complex interconnectedness with physical space. To understand this interconnectedness we have to go back to the fundamentals and understand the genealogy of OSM with different qualitative and quantitative lenses. In this talk, I would like to present a research vision on how we can apply these quali-quantitative lenses to conceptualize the data quality of OSM to reduce the dependency on controlled or authoritative datasets. I will shed light on the layered conceptualization of OSM data quality with respect to different case study areas and projects that I am currently exploring. Layered conceptualization is based on the hypothesis that OSM data should be intertwined with the region and context-specific considerations. Understanding this intertwining will result in a better understanding of OSM data ethics and how it is related to the current data quality criteria already existing for OSM and other geo datasets. The aim is not to expunge the current data quality initiatives but to acknowledge and understand the exceptionality of OSM and its data quality. This talk will be a progress talk for the OSM Utopia project.