NOTICE: help.openstreetmap.org is no longer in use from 1st March 2024. Please use the OpenStreetMap Community Forum

A wooden barrier, made up of vertical planks, without gaps between and 2m high. Would that be a fence or a wall?

It's the structure in the background here, in front of the green building:

https://www.mapillary.com/app/?focus=photo&pKey=5qL_nzSJcCSBd7TrRpS35Q

asked 12 May '17, 08:09

pbb's gravatar image

pbb
621141831
accept rate: 0%


Sounds like a fence to me.

permanent link

answered 12 May '17, 09:55

SomeoneElse's gravatar image

SomeoneElse ♦
36.9k71370866
accept rate: 16%

Its closed ?

(12 May '17, 10:09) Hendrikklaas

I'm siding with fence in the end, though it is in a grey zone.

  • No foundation -- fence
  • Wooden -- fence
  • Opaque -- wall
  • 2 meters high -- wall
  • Thin -- fence

3 out of 5 make it lean more towards fence for me.

(12 May '17, 12:26) pbb

If you look at the images on fence type, your case is pretty similar to the first picture for concrete.

(12 May '17, 12:30) escada

Definitely a fence where I come from, Queensland in Australia, and a common property divider between houses in suburban residential areas.

permanent link

answered 12 May '17, 11:45

nevw's gravatar image

nevw
9.8k2690178
accept rate: 9%

edited 18 May '17, 13:30

According to Wikipedia:

A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length.

The object in question doesn't have a solid foundation so I would tag it as a fence.

permanent link

answered 12 May '17, 11:19

scai's gravatar image

scai ♦
33.3k21309459
accept rate: 23%

Very smart, I hadn't though about checking Wikipedia. But I am in doubt about their definition, it would mean that the barrier shown in https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dry_Stone_wall_building.JPG is a fence? (Since it doesn't have a foundation.)

(12 May '17, 12:01) pbb

I would consider the bottom line of stones to be some kind of foundation since they seem to be halfway inside the ground. But I see your point, this definition isn't really good. So far my understanding of a fence was always "something you can see through" but this doesn't always fit either. Your picture looks like a fence to me. The reason for this is probably it doesn't look as solid as a typical wall.

(12 May '17, 12:07) scai ♦
2

The Wikipedia page on Wall is not as clear-cut:

"The conventional differentiation is that a fence is of minimal thickness and often open in nature, while a wall is usually more than a nominal thickness and is completely closed, or opaque. More to the point, an exterior structure of wood or wire is generally called a fence—but one of masonry is a wall."

(12 May '17, 12:21) pbb
-1

Hi PBB, barrier=wall with the description, a freestanding structure, designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary and almost always built so that it is opaque to vision. (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:barrier) and details as material=wood just to make it clear it’s not a stone wall, the height and even a gate if present.

permanent link

answered 12 May '17, 09:50

Hendrikklaas's gravatar image

Hendrikklaas
9.3k207238387
accept rate: 5%

Follow this question

By Email:

Once you sign in you will be able to subscribe for any updates here

By RSS:

Answers

Answers and Comments

Markdown Basics

  • *italic* or _italic_
  • **bold** or __bold__
  • link:[text](http://url.com/ "title")
  • image?![alt text](/path/img.jpg "title")
  • numbered list: 1. Foo 2. Bar
  • to add a line break simply add two spaces to where you would like the new line to be.
  • basic HTML tags are also supported

Question tags:

×55
×18
×12

question asked: 12 May '17, 08:09

question was seen: 3,625 times

last updated: 18 May '17, 13:30

NOTICE: help.openstreetmap.org is no longer in use from 1st March 2024. Please use the OpenStreetMap Community Forum