What is the People's Map?

The People’s Map is a new mapping paradigm, free of Crown Copyright and free for private and non-commercial use. You can now create maps to your own specifications, and our liberal licensing terms allow you to use the People’s Map in the way that best suits you whether it is for personal, community or business use.

Our Objectives

  1. 1. Provide independent mapping of Britain down to at least 1:10,000 scale
  2. 2. Provide a framework for users to create and maintain their own maps
  3. 3. Provide a liberal licensing framework which includes:
    • Free private non-commercial use
    • Perpetual licensing of the People’s Map
    • No Royalties on Associated / Derived Data

Framework for Map Making

The real power of the People’s Map comes from its editing interface, which not only allows users to create their own maps, but also updates existing mapping. For instance, if a road layout has changed, you can update the mapping using the editing interface, and effectively take control of the mapping you use. A growing number of customers are adopting the People’s Map as a versatile framework for managing their own information - why not try it yourself, register as an editor, follow the instructions and get mapping!

Data & Products

The People’s Map of Britain is still a ‘work in progress’ – but there is already a large and growing collection of finished maps, produced to a professional cartographic standard at 14 scales from 1:1,000,000 down to 1:5,000 street level. Finished maps include a small scale ‘mini-atlas’ of the whole of Britain as well as 1:5000 maps of Central London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Brighton and Bath with many others in progress.

These maps can be used in a variety of ways:

  • In a website by using the People’s Map API
  • In raster or vector formats as a map layer in a GIS
  • In printed & published form

The data is maintained in the following vector format layers: Admin Boundaries, Buildings, Built-Up Areas, Coastline, Contours, Drainage, Land Use, Place name Gazetteer, Points of Interest, Roads and Railways.

Licensing

People’s Map licensing options are fair and simple. It is free for private and non-commercial use while for professional use the People’s Map data is licensed in perpetuity. Users can also associate their own data with the People’s Map without any transfer of ownership. The People’s Map is also entirely free of third party and crown copyright.