OpenStreetMap for wall art

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a global map database built collaboratively since 2004. Unlike Google Maps or Apple Maps, its data is open and accessible to everyone.

MaptoWall uses OSM as its main source for generating city posters. Every street, park, or waterway visible on your poster comes from contributions made by mappers around the world.

OSM is especially useful for artistic creation because of its granularity. The database distinguishes motorways, secondary roads, footpaths, cycle routes, buildings, natural areas, and bodies of water.

Vector data is also a strong fit for the high-resolution outputs required by print. A 300 dpi poster needs sources that do not pixelate, and OSM supports that natively.

It is common to assume that a collaborative database must be less reliable than a proprietary source. In major cities, the opposite is often true: OSM can be updated very quickly after major urban changes.

For decorative cartography, OSM coverage is excellent in European, North American, and Asian cities, which also happen to be the destinations most often requested for gift or decor posters.

In some rural or sparsely populated areas, OSM may lack detail and the map can look emptier. A wider zoom that takes in nearby villages and countryside then gives the composition more substance.

MaptoWall does not offer satellite views: every poster is drawn from OpenFreeMap vector tiles, built from OSM data.

If you live in a city whose map feels incomplete, you can contribute directly to OpenStreetMap. Every improvement benefits the whole community and may also improve your next poster.

That is one of MaptoWall's strengths: the product improves as the global mapping community enriches its data.