Using Open Street Map Data in Environmental Exposure Assessment Studies: Eastern Massachusetts, Bern Region, and South Israel as a Case Study.

Itai Kloog,Kees De Hoogh,Lara Kaufman

doi:10.3390/ijerph15112443

Abstract

There is an increase in the awareness of the importance of spatial data in epidemiology and exposure assessment (EA) studies. Most studies use governmental and ordnance surveys, which are often expensive and sparsely updated, while in most developing countries, there are often no official geo-spatial data sources. OpenStreetMap (OSM) is an open source Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) mapping project. Yet very few environmental epidemiological and EA studies have used OSM as a source for road data. Since VGI data is either noncommercial or governmental, the validity of OSM is often questioned. We investigate the robustness and validity of OSM data for use in epidemiological and EA studies. We compared OSM and Governmental Major Road Data (GRD) in three different regions: Massachusetts, USA; Bern, Switzerland; and Beer-Sheva, South Israel. The comparison was done by calculating data completeness, positional accuracy, and EA using traditional exposure methods. We found that OSM data is fairly complete and accurate in all regions. The results in all regions were robust, with Massachusetts showing the best fits (R2 0.93). Results in Bern (R2 0.78) and Beer-Sheva (R2 0.77) were only slightly lower. We conclude by suggesting that OSM data can be used reliably in environmental assessment studies.

Highlights

For the past 30 years, there is increasing awareness of the importance of spatial data in epidemiological studies [1]
We found that the lower result in Beer-Sheva city (Figure 3B) was not due to a lack of OSM data, but was caused by the difference in road class definitions; the same road was classified as a minor road in OSM, while in Governmental Major Road Data (GRD), it was defined as a regional highway
Previous studies found that completeness and positional accuracy is better in populated areas when compared to rural areas [17,24,25]

Summary

Introduction

For the past 30 years, there is increasing awareness of the importance of spatial data in epidemiological studies [1]. Population data (location, socioeconomic status, education, etc.). The Geographical Information System (GIS) allows combining all the necessary data for exposure assessment studies [2,3]. GIS data used in those studies are usually from known trusted sources, such as government or ordnance surveys, which are usually expensive and, in some locations, sparsely updated. In most developing countries, there are no official GIS data sources, making it more difficult to conduct exposure assessment studies [4]. Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) [5,6], i.e., OpenStreetMap, Google maps etc., are usually free of charge and frequently updated by users around the world [5]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion