19/02/2026-25/02/2026
[1] VORTAC (VHF Omnidirectional Range / Tactical Air Navigation) (beacon:type=VORTAC) | Colling-architektur, via Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0
Mapping
- Simgaymer has asked for comments on a tagging proposal to extend the existing
building:flats=*tag, allowing mappers to record the number of flats with 0 bedrooms (studio), 1 bedroom, 2 bedrooms, and so on. For examplebuilding:flats:0_bedrooms=*to record the number of studio flats. - The proposal
flashing_lights=*is still open for voting. The proposal intends to indicate the precise design of flashing lights. - Voting on the
indication:*=*, a tag prefix to designate any feature with the help of existing tagging (useful for utility markers, like hydrants), refinement proposal has closed successfully at 100% approval rate (20 votes for, 0 votes against, and 0 abstentions).
Mapping campaigns
- [1] Matt Whilden has launched a MapRoulette project focused on improving the mapping of VORTAC (VHF Omnidirectional Range / Tactical Air Navigation) beacons (
beacon:type=VORTAC), a type of radio station used in aviation to help pilots determine both their direction from a station and their distance to it. According to Matt many of these installations in OpenStreetMap have been incorrectly mapped as buildings, storage tanks, towers, or other structures, rather than being tagged as aviation navigation aids. The circular shelters and antenna arrays that characterise VORTAC sites are frequently misidentified when viewed from aerial imagery.
Community
- Following a recent outage affecting the Overpass API service used by many OpenStreetMap tools, Daniel Schep and Jacob Hall announced the launch of the MapRVA Overpass server (https://overpass.maprva.org/api/), a dedicated Overpass instance focused on the state of Virginia in the United States. Alongside the server, they also introduced a customised deployment of Ultra. The customised version is configured to use the MapRVA Overpass server and the MapRVA styling server as its default infrastructure, providing an alternative resource for users working with Virginia-focused data during broader service disruptions.
- Michal Migurski has written about the representation of boundaries in dispute using open data and mapping with OpenStreetMap.
- Derlamaer highlighted the current OSM proposal
traffic_signals:detector=pedestrian_presence_sensor, suggesting a tag for indicating pedestrian presence detectors at traffic signals. This tag aims to improve the precision of signal controller datasets and support more detailed traffic engineering analyses. - FeetAndInches has written a diary entry on how they process dashcam video and GNSS data into a sequence of images for Panoramax.
- Kevin Ratzel has written an Ultra query to visualise the 1.0 Pedestrian Working Group Schema, a tagging schema for pedestrian infrastructure mapping in OpenStreetMap.
- Anne-Karoline Distel has published a video explaining how to map bonfire sites associated with the Eleventh Night.
- Valentin Bachem has identified and explained
► several potential safety risks in the current cycling path network of Heidelberg, calling on local authorities and the media to give greater attention to these issues and to pursue improvements aimed at reducing harm. - SirfHaru wrote in their OSM user diary about some of the peculiarities of mapping addresses in India.
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Events
- The call for participants at SotM 2026 is open. This year’s SotM will take place in Paris, France, 28 to 30 August. The Programme Committee is ready and waiting, eager to unwrap your submissions for talks, workshops, and panels. These sessions aren’t just part of the conference; they’re its beating heart, driving conversations and sparking ideas that resonate worldwide. Presenting your work, projects and ideas at SotM is also a great way to get in touch with the wider OSM community.
Maps
- Jochen Topf outlined several recent feature updates to OSM Spyglass, a debugging interface for OpenStreetMap that displays all tagged nodes, ways, and relations.
Open Data
- An update of the Portuguese coastline dataset, at a scale of 1:150,000, is now available ►, on the dados.gov portal, published by the Hydrographic Institute.
- The 2025 version of the Official Administrative Map of Portugal has been published ► on the website of the Directorate-General for Territory. There is also a viewer for online data, which uses OSM as its base map.
- Pinhead map symbols is a repository of public domain SVG icons designed to be displayed at 15×15 pixels (minimum). You can find the project on GitHub.
►Software
- ni5arga has made Sightline, an OSINT search engine for physical infrastructure, built on OpenStreetMap data. The tool uses the Overpass API and Nominatim, supports both free-text and structured queries, such as
type:data_center operator:google, and relies on deterministic rule-based parsing instead of AI inference. - nickrsan has built Browsm, a browser extension that allows users to edit OpenStreetMap points of interest directly while viewing a business or attraction’s official website.
Releases
- Organic Maps has released its February 2026 update. Users can now contribute by adding real-time public transport schedule data through sending GTFS feed sources and ensuring that a city’s OSM data includes all the necessary tags, which can be verified using the gtfs-osm-matcher.
Other “geo” things
- FOSSGIS e.V. has launched a mailing list aimed at the wider community. The list is intended as a place to ask questions about QGIS, discuss software or plugin choices, and exchange practical experiences with other users. Subscribers will also receive updates from the association, including event notices, job postings, and other announcements. Registration is available here , and joining does not require association membership.
- The German tech outlet Golem.de reported that Google is further restricting the full functionality of Google Maps for users who are not signed in with a Google account. According to the report, the limitation has been confirmed to apply at least in the United States and Germany.
- The Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme (Parisian Urbanism lab APUR) has published ► the first Atlas de la Métropole du Grand Paris. As part of this publication, APUR has chosen to present an analysis of the departure patterns of Parisians and residents of the Île-de-France region to metropolitan seaside areas, based on data from CitiProfile ►, a French startup specialising in the production of decision-making tools based on the flow of people and vehicles.
- The Zürich-based Mapillary team hosted an event on 26 February to celebrate reaching 3 billion uploaded images. The meetup offered insights into the engineering behind hosting this volume of imagery, the future roadmap, and how mapping communities are using Mapillary.
- You can read the incredible history of Inō Tadataka, who was 55 years old when he set out to methodically survey the entire coastline of Japan in 1800, a task he would spend the last 17 years of his life working on.
- QGIS 4.0 Release candidate has been launched, with some important improvements and, according to the developers, this major release will represent the successful culmination of a long period of technical migration, transitioning the core of QGIS to Qt6. According to the Road Map, the release date for version 4.0 is 6 March 2026.
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Upcoming Events
| Country | Where | Venue | What | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Seattle | Seattle, WA, US | OpenThePaths 2026: Connecting People and Places Through Sustainable Access  | 2026-02-26 – 2026-02-27 |
| Santa Clara | Santa Clara University | Friends of MSF Mapathon | 2026-02-26 |
| UN Maps Validation Friday Chat & Map | 2026-02-27 | |||
 | Greater Noida | Online | Missing water Bodies of Delhi | 2026-02-27 |
 | Essen | Fahrrad-Messe Essen, Halle 5, Show-Truck | Vortrag: Mitmachen bei OpenStreetMap, der Basis vieler Outdoor-Apps | 2026-02-27 |
| Potsdam | Hafthorn | Potsdamer Mappertreffen | 2026-02-27 |
 | Ferrara | Cimitero monumentale della Certosa di Ferrara | Ferrara mapping party | 2026-02-28 |
| Messina | Messina | Mapping Day @ Messina | 2026-02-28 |
 | Dijital Bilgi Derneği Genel Merkezi | OpenStreetMap Community Meet-Up & Mapathon | 2026-02-28 | |
| नई दिल्ली | Jitsi Meet (online) | OSM India – Monthly Online Mapathon | 2026-03-01 |
| Madurai | Naveen Coffee Bar, Anna Nagar (tentative) | OSM Mapping Party @ Madurai | 2026-03-01 |
| Milano | Building 4A, Room Fassò – Politecnico di Milano | PoliMappers Maptedì | 2026-03-03 |
 | Salzburg | Bewohnerservice Elisabeth-Vorstadt | OSM-Treffpunkt | 2026-03-03 |
 | Lille | Salle Yser, MRES, 5 rue Jules de Vicq, Lille | Rencontre OpenStreetMap à Lille | 2026-03-03 |
| Missing Maps London: (Online) Mapathon [eng] | 2026-03-03 | |||
| iD Community Chat | 2026-03-04 | |||
| OSM Indoor Meetup | 2026-03-04 | |||
 | Brno | Kvartální OSM pivo | 2026-03-04 | |
| Harzer OSM-Stammtisch | 2026-03-04 | |||
| Stuttgart | Stuttgart | Stuttgarter OpenStreetMap-Treffen | 2026-03-04 |
| Online | OpenHistoricalMap in North America | 2026-03-04 | |
| OSM US Mappy Hour: OpenHistoricalMap in North America | 2026-03-04 | |||
| Flensburg | Offener Kanal Flensburg | 3. Open Data Day Flensburg | 2026-03-05 |
 | Žilina | Fakulta riadenia a informatiky UNIZA | Missing Maps mapathon Žilina #21 | 2026-03-05 |
| Le Schmilblick, Montrouge | Réunion des contributeurs de Montrouge et du Sud de Paris | 2026-03-05 | |
 | София | Rectorate of Sofia University St. Kliment of Ohrid | FOSS4G:BG Open GIS Conference 2026 | 2026-03-06 – 2026-03-07 |
| OSMF Engineering Working Group meeting | 2026-03-06 | |||
 | Gent | Wijgaard | OpenStreetMap meetup in Gent – Pre-VLA-congres editie | 2026-03-06 |
| Hogeschool Odissee Hospitaalstraat 23 Sint-Niklaas | Vereniging Leraars Aardrijkskunde (VLA) conference 2026 | 2026-03-07 | |
 | Perth | Espresso Perk U Later | Social Mapping Sunday: Moort-ak Waadiny / Wellington Square Perth | 2026-03-07 |
| Perth | Espresso Perk U Later | Social Mapping Sunday: Moort-ak Waadiny / Wellington Square Perth | 2026-03-08 |
| Delhi | OSM Delhi Mapping Party No.27 (East Zone) | 2026-03-08 | |
 | København | Cafe Bevar’s | | 2026-03-08 |
 | London | Social Sciences Centre – Western University | Friends of MSF UWO Mapathon | 2026-03-09 |
| Brno | Geografický ústav, PřF MUNI, Brno | Březnový brněnský Missing Maps Mapathon na Geografickém ústavu | 2026-03-09 |
| Missing Maps : Mapathon en ligne – CartONG [fr] | 2026-03-09 | |||
 | 臺北市 | MozSpace Taipei | OpenStreetMap x Wikidata Taipei #86 | 2026-03-09 |
| Hamburg | Voraussichtlich: “Variable”, Karolinenstraße 23 | Hamburger Mappertreffen | 2026-03-10 |
 | Cork | Logitech, Cork, Ireland | Logitech Missing Maps – Office Mapathon | 2026-03-11 |
| Reston | George Mason University, HUB VIP 3 | The GAIN Mapathon | 2026-03-11 |
 | Zürich | Bitwäscherei Zürich | 185. OSM-Stammtisch Zürich | 2026-03-11 |
| München | WikiMUC | Münchner OSM-Treffen | 2026-03-12 |
| Leuven | Romaanse Poort | Camera’s in kaart brengen | 2026-03-14 |
Note:
If you like to see your event here, please put it into the OSM calendar. Only data which is there, will appear in weeklyOSM.
This weeklyOSM was produced by MarcoR, MatthiasMatthias, Raquel IVIDES DATA, Strubbl, Andrew Davidson, barefootstache, derFred, izen57, mcliquid.
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