Overture Maps Foundation: A Complete Guide to Free, Open Map Data

Overture Maps Foundation, founded in late 2022 under the Linux Foundation, is building the world’s most comprehensive open map dataset by combining contributions from Meta, Microsoft, TomTom, Amazon Web Services, and other industry partners. Unlike OpenStreetMap’s volunteer-driven model, Overture uses a corporate-backed, professionally curated approach to produce map data at global scale with consistent schemas and monthly release cycles.

This guide covers everything GIS users need to know about Overture — the themes, how to download the data, schema highlights, and practical workflows.

What Makes Overture Different?

Overture is not an OpenStreetMap fork or competitor. It’s a complementary layer:

Aspect	Overture Maps	OpenStreetMap
Contributors	Corporate (Meta, Microsoft, TomTom, etc.)	Volunteers
Update cadence	Monthly releases	Continuous
Data format	GeoParquet on AWS S3	PBF / OSM XML
Schema	Strict, stable, versioned	Tag-based (folksonomy)
License	CDLA Permissive v2.0 / ODbL	ODbL
API	STAC catalog + CLI	Overpass / Planet

The CDLA Permissive v2.0 license is more permissive than ODbL — it allows commercial use without requiring derivative works to be shared under the same license (though upstream OSM-attributed components still carry ODbL).

The Six Overture Data Themes

Overture organizes its data into six distinct themes, each with a dedicated schema:

1. Places (Points of Interest)

Overture Places is the most popular theme. It provides hundreds of millions of POIs worldwide including restaurants, shops, hospitals, schools, entertainment venues, and public services.

• Geometry: Point
• Key attributes: Name, category (hierarchical), address, phone, website, hours, social media
• Coverage: Global
• Best for: Local search, navigation, business intelligence

2. Buildings

Overture Buildings provides building footprints with 3D attributes — a key differentiator from other open building datasets.

• Geometry: Polygon
• Key attributes: Height (meters), number of levels, building type (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), roof type
• Sources: OSM + Microsoft + Meta
• Best for: 3D city modeling, urban planning, population estimation, shadow analysis

3. Transportation

Overture Transportation covers the full transportation network with rich attributes for routing and analysis.

• Geometry: Line (segments)
• Key attributes: Road class (motorway to footpath), surface type, speed limit, number of lanes, access restrictions, bike/pedestrian facilities
• Best for: Routing, transport planning, urban mobility, network analysis
• Also includes: Railways, cycling routes, ferry routes

4. Addresses

Overture Addresses provides geocoded point addresses worldwide — useful for geocoding, logistics, and emergency response.

• Geometry: Point
• Key attributes: Street name, house number, city, state, postal code, country, freeform address
• Best for: Geocoding, address validation, delivery route optimization, emergency response

5. Base

Overture Base provides foundational land cover and geographic features:

• Geometry: Polygon
• Key attributes: Land use class (residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, forest, park), water body type (lake, river, ocean, reservoir), natural feature classification
• Best for: Land use mapping, basemap creation, environmental analysis

6. Divisions

Overture Divisions provides administrative boundaries at multiple hierarchy levels:

• Geometry: Polygon
• Key attributes: Administrative level (1 = country, 2 = state/province, 3 = county, 4+ = local), official name, local language name, country code, parent division ID
• Best for: Thematic mapping, geocoding, regional analysis, administrative boundary mapping

How to Download Overture Data

Method 1: Overture CLI (Recommended)

The easiest way to download Overture data for a specific area:

pip install overturemaps

# Download buildings for a bounding box
overturemaps download \
  --bbox=-71.068,42.353,-71.058,42.363 \
  -f geojson \
  --type=building \
  -o boston_buildings.geojson

# Download places for a larger area
overturemaps download \
  --bbox=-122.5,37.7,-122.3,37.8 \
  -f geojson \
  --type=place \
  -o sf_places.geojson

# Download transportation
overturemaps download \
  --bbox=-122.5,37.7,-122.3,37.8 \
  -f geojson \
  --type=transportation \
  -o sf_roads.geojson

The CLI reads directly from Overture’s cloud-hosted GeoParquet files and transfers only the data inside your bounding box — no need to download the entire planet.

Method 2: DuckDB + STAC Catalog

For power users who want to run SQL queries before downloading:

LOAD spatial;
LOAD httpfs;

COPY(
  SELECT
    id,
    names.primary as name,
    categories.primary as category,
    addresses[1].freeform as address,
    geometry
  FROM read_parquet(
    's3://overturemaps-us-west-2/release/2026-06-17.0/theme=places/type=place/*',
    filename=true, hive_partitioning=1
  )
  WHERE bbox.xmin > -71.07 AND bbox.xmax < -71.05
    AND bbox.ymin > 42.35 AND bbox.ymax < 42.37
) TO 'boston_places.geojson' WITH (FORMAT GDAL, DRIVER 'GeoJSON');

Method 3: Overture Explorer

For quick visual browsing, use the Overture Explorer — no installation needed. Click any feature to inspect its properties, and download visible data as GeoJSON.

Data Schema Highlights

Overture’s schemas are well-documented and backward-compatible. Key design principles:

• Global Entity Reference System (GERS): Every feature has a stable ID that persists across releases, enabling cross-dataset joins and temporal tracking.
• Hive-partitioned GeoParquet: Data is stored in Parquet format partitioned by theme/type on AWS S3, enabling efficient querying without full downloads.
• Nested structures: Properties like addresses, names (multi-language), and categories use nested JSON/struct columns rather than flat tables.

Using Overture Data in GeoDataViewer

All Overture themes can be opened and analyzed in GeoDataViewer Studio:

1. Download the data using the CLI or DuckDB method above.
2. Open in Studio — drag and drop the GeoJSON or Parquet file.
3. Inspect attributes — view the complete property schema for each feature.
4. Style and filter — apply thematic styling based on category, class, or any attribute.
5. Export — convert to Shapefile, GeoPackage, KML, or any of the 20+ supported formats.

Overture’s clean schemas and consistent attribution make it an excellent data source for tutorials, basemaps, and spatial analysis — all processed locally in your browser.

Licensing Summary

Theme	License	Attribution Required
Places	CDLA Permissive v2.0 + ODbL (upstream OSM)	Yes — see attribution guide
Buildings	CDLA Permissive v2.0	Yes
Transportation	CDLA Permissive v2.0 + ODbL	Yes
Addresses	CDLA Permissive v2.0 + ODbL	Yes
Base	CDLA Permissive v2.0 + ODbL	Yes
Divisions	CDLA Permissive v2.0 + ODbL	Yes

Note: Overture data derived from upstream OSM sources carries ODbL requirements. Check the Overture attribution documentation for exact requirements.

Getting Started: Quick Workflow

1. Install the CLI: pip install overturemaps
2. Pick a theme: Start with Places or Buildings for the most immediately useful data.
3. Choose an area: Use --bbox or download by country.
4. Convert to GeoJSON: Use -f geojson for easy GIS compatibility.
5. Open in GeoDataViewer Studio: Drag and drop for instant visualization.

Related Dataset Pages

• Overture Maps Places — Global POI directory
• Overture Maps Buildings — 3D building footprints
• Overture Maps Transportation — Road and path network
• Overture Maps Addresses — Geocoded point addresses
• Overture Maps Base — Land use and water features
• Overture Maps Divisions — Administrative boundaries