An Investigation into the Completeness of, and the Updates to, OpenStreetMap Data in a Heterogeneous Area in Brazil

The integration of user-generated content made in a collaborative environment is being increasingly considered a valuable input to reference maps, even from official map agencies such as USGS and Ordnance Survey. In Brazil, decades of lack of investment has resulted in a topographic map coverage that is both outdated and unequally distributed throughout the territory. This paper aims to analyze the spatial distribution of updates of OpenStreetMap in rural and urban areas in the country to understand the patterns of user updates and its correlation with other economic and developmental variables. This analysis will contribute to generating the knowledge needed in order to consider the use of this data as part of a reference layer of the National Spatial Database Infrastructure as well to design strategies to encourage user action in specific areas.