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Two part question. First, is it possible to download GPX traces over a specific location I'm interested in. Second, is it possible to download the GPX traces is bulk? I'm a master's student studying population mobility for my thesis, and would like to try and use the publicly available GPX traces on OSM to try and answer some research questions.

asked 31 Jan '18, 18:11

andrrvt15's gravatar image

andrrvt15
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edited 01 Feb '18, 07:39

scai's gravatar image

scai ♦
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1.) the osm api provides https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/API_v0.6#Retrieving_GPS_points

2.) there is are historic dumps of all data here http://planet.openstreetmap.org/gps/

In principle that later could be done again, you would likely need to lobby the OSMF to get another one (or pay for the work)

permanent link

answered 31 Jan '18, 18:54

SimonPoole's gravatar image

SimonPoole ♦
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Simon, thanks for providing your input, I appreciate it. I have a quick question, and please forgive my naievity for I am still a bit new to programming and APIs. Do you know if the call to get GPS points (GET /api/0.6/trackpoints?bbox=left,bottom,right,top&page=pageNumber) is available in the Python osmapi wrapper or only as an HTTP request? I've been looking but its a bit unclear.

(31 Jan '18, 19:35) andrrvt15

Follow up - is it possible to get the timestamps for the GPS points? I got a small sample returned from the API, but its just points without times

(31 Jan '18, 19:47) andrrvt15

IIRC the timestamps are hidden for privacy reasons (which as you may have heared in recent news is a concern with this kind of data). If this is for bona fide research (which we are in general glad to support), you need to get in contact with the OSMF board: board@osmfoundation.org

(31 Jan '18, 20:20) SimonPoole ♦

@andrrvt15: if you get timestamps via the API depends on the privacy setting of each individual trace - see https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Visibility_of_GPS_traces

(31 Jan '18, 20:39) aseerel4c26 ♦

@SimonPoole note that the recent news about issues with strava's heatmap (I guess you mean this) is not about the timestamps - it is about the locations alone.

(31 Jan '18, 20:44) aseerel4c26 ♦

@aseerel4c26 that was a bigger picture pointer. While in the case of strava (since it is simply a rendering of the tracks) you can essentially just come to the conclusion that people are running around the places in question, making time stamps available would actually allow reconstructing tracks from the points which then in turn potentially be associated with individuals.

(31 Jan '18, 20:48) SimonPoole ♦

Thank you both for your replies. I am well aware of the privacy and security implications of this data with timestamps, and without - in the case of the Strava Labs revelation. I'll reach out to the OSMF board regarding my research and my attempt to access more detailed point data.

(31 Jan '18, 21:03) andrrvt15
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question asked: 31 Jan '18, 18:11

question was seen: 5,126 times

last updated: 01 Feb '18, 07:39

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