2024: The year of the OpenStreetMap vector maps

OpenStreetMap will take a large leap forward with the introduction of vector tiles on openstreetmap.org this year. To lead our vector tiles project, the OpenStreetMap Foundation has hired Paul Norman, a renowned figure in cartography and open data, whose journey with OpenStreetMap began in 2010 with a chance encounter on the xkcd forums. Vector tiles represent a significant advancement in how map data is processed and presented. Unlike traditional raster tiles, which are static images with pixels, vector tiles are like the 'SVGs' of the mapping world: you get lines and points. If that sounds like what you've seen on other maps, you are right! Vector tiles have become industry standard in interactive maps that, unlike openstreetmap.org, don't get updated often, and where you can simply recalculate your whole database occasionally. Looking further ahead, the most exciting part is what this vector tile project will make easy for volunteers and tile users: 3d maps, more efficient data mixing and matching and integration of other datasets, thematic styles, multilingual maps, different views for administrative boundaries, interactive points of interest, more accessible maps for vision-impaired users, and I'm sure many other ideas that no one has come up with yet. If you would like to support our year of vector tiles specifically, you can donate and leave 'vector tiles' in the donation message.