The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) collaborates with communities, volunteers, governments, and organizations worldwide to harness the power of open map data for humanitarian response and development. Through innovation, partnership, and a shared vision of an equitable world, HOT strives to address critical global and local challenges by making geospatial data actionable and accessible to all. The organization uses open geospatial data and technology for humanitarian response and community-led development.
Why It Matters: Effective humanitarian response and community development depend on accurate maps—yet many of the world’s most vulnerable communities remain unmapped, invisible to responders and planners when crises strike, or development decisions are made. By harnessing volunteers worldwide to create open map data, HOT ensures that geospatial information becomes a shared resource accessible to all rather than proprietary data controlled by a few. The focus on community-led development alongside humanitarian response recognizes that mapping serves not just crisis response but ongoing equity, making communities visible and their needs actionable.
