Exporting map data from OpenStreetMap

In the case you need to acquire detailed city data to produce a large-scale map and we don’t have what you’re looking for in our data inventory, there is a chance that the user-contributed maps of OpenStreetMap.org may do the trick. You can export data from OpenStreetMap and open it in ArcGIS to use it in your own maps.

  1. Go to openstreetmap.org and zoom to the extent of your area of interest using the search box or the mouse.
    Open street map homepage.
     

  2. Click on Export Data in the sidebar on the left to bring up the Export pane. If you are satisfied with the visible extent, click Export. 

    The export function on open street map.

    You will be prompted to save map.osm to your computer. As you are limited in the extent of the area that you can export, you may receive an error prompting you to zoom in and select a smaller area. If you require data for an area larger than what the site can export, you can download larger extracts of OSM data in a variety of formats from http://download.geofabrik.de/, though not all thematic layers are included.

  3. Open up ArcMap. In the Customize menu, click on Extensions… and ensure that the Data Interoperability extension is enabled. On some computers in the Map & Data Library, you may see FME Extension for ArcGIS listed instead.
    The extensions menu on ArcMap, with Data Interoperability highlighted.

  4. Click on the Add Data button in the toolbar and navigate to the location where you saved map.osm in step 2. By selecting the .osm file and then clicking Add, you can add all of its component layers to the map, or double-click it to add only selected feature types to your map document. A comprehensive list of OSM’s feature types can be found here: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Map_Features. Note that the extent of your layers may extend beyond the area you selected on the website – if a feature in that area extends beyond the limits of the view you defined, it is included in the exported data.


     

  5. You can now use these layers in ArcGIS. They will be stored in the WGS_1984 geographic coordinate system, and so will need to be projected before exporting to AutoCAD if that is your intention – see this guide for instructions on how to do so: https://mdl.library.utoronto.ca/technology/tutorials/converting-gis-dat…

exporting-map-data-openstreetmap.pdf
Tools: ArcGIS | Data Format: Vector
Date Created: 2016-04-12 Updated: 2022-12-15