Community Activation for Disaster Risk Reduction Through OpenStreetMap: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The advancement of geospatial technology has significantly altered how data is utilised for facilitating the growth of open-access data for disaster risk reduction (DRR). OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a part of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), built on the concept of volunteerism and heavily reliant on user contributions to spatial data. In recent years, OSM has emerged as a fundamental tool in all aspects of DRR, enabling well-informed decision-making and empowering active community contributions. This study aims to review the utilisation of OSM in DRR and proposes recommendations to enhance community resilience. The five-step scoping review method was conducted on 25 selected papers to investigate the current knowledge and uncover the potential applications of OSM within the community for DRR. The review commenced by defining the research questions, identifying pertinent literature sources, selecting relevant literature for inclusion, extracting key themes from the literature, and finally, consolidating, summarising, and reporting the results. The findings revealed that OSM’s worldwide accessibility for various objectives has been instrumental in its widespread adoption and rising prominence. Nevertheless, this review emphasises that despite its rapid expansion into other fields, OSM continues to hold significant importance and widespread usage in the context of DRR. This study presented findings on community involvement in OSM and explored the opportunities for community-led DRR implementation. The paper provides insights into the application of OSM in advanced and developing countries while delving into potential future pathways. OSM places significant emphasis on community-driven, on-the-ground data collection, providing governments with a chance to enhance policy management in DRR. As the incorporation of OSM in decision-making expands, it will garner attention from diverse sectors, demonstrating the platform’s effectiveness on a broader and more impactful level.