An Outlook for OpenStreetMap

This volume has presented “OpenStreetMap in GIScience: experiences, research and applications” with a collection of experiences and research carried out with OpenStreetMap as the central and core theme. The volume has sought to build a firm foundation to highlight research work focused on OpenStreetMap. This was one of our original goals when we set out at the beginning of the editorial process. This is, to the best of our current knowledge, the first academically produced volume of its kind which focuses exclusively on OpenStreetMap. Approximately one decade on from the birth of OpenStreetMap in 2004 this volume appears at the most opportune of times. OpenStreetMap has emerged from one of the most tumultuous decades in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and possibly in the history of human communication. In the decade where ICT, social media, ubiquitous computing and the Internet of Things emerged OpenStreetMap arguably now proudly stands as one of the best examples of crowd and volunteered-based innovation of this time. Its past has been remarkable and the future for OpenStreetMap is bright.