Official Statistics, Building Censuses, and OpenStreetMap Completeness in Italy

Gianluigi Salvucci,Luca Salvati

doi:10.3390/ijgi11010029

Abstract

The present study provides a simplified framework verifying the degree of coverage and completeness of settlement maps derived from the OpenStreetMap (OSM) database at the national scale, with a possible use in official statistics. Measuring the completeness of the objects (i.e., buildings) derived from OpenStreetMap database supports its potential use in building/population censuses and other diachronic surveys, as well as administrative sources such as the register of building permits and land-use cadasters. A series of measurements at different scales are proposed and tested for Italy, in line with earlier studies. While recognizing the potential of the OpenStreetMap database for official statistics, the present work underlines the urgent need of an additional (spatially explicit) analysis overcoming the data heterogeneity and sub-optimal coverage of the OSM information source.

Highlights

Recent advances in Web 2.0 technologies have transformed Internet users from “content seekers” to “data producers” [1]
The present study evaluates the intrinsic quality of data derived from OSM with respect to official statistics
As far as the settlement maps derived from official statistics in Italy, the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) no longer carries out the traditional census of buildings, and the related maps produced in past surveys were—

Summary

Introduction

Recent advances in Web 2.0 technologies have transformed Internet users from “content seekers” to “data producers” [1]. This process has simultaneously led to the search for free software and open data, in turn creating a collaborative consciousness where users become both data creators and data sharers [2]. Technological progress allows even less skilled stakeholders to produce significant data [3]. From this perspective, open software allows a reduction in the cost of assessment tools and solutions to repetitive operations [4]. A question may arise: “How reliable are data from users?”

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