What is an overpass query?

Tags: #<Tag:0x00007fd5ec993c38>
#1

Overpass API is an interface provided by OpenStreetMap to filter data. We use it to query OpenStreetMap for relevant data to display POIs (Points of Interests) on the maps on demo.transformap.co.

For example:
To build a query for all community gardens, you use this Overpass Query:

["leisure"="garden"]["garden:type"="community"]

Learning to use this language enables you to build custom maps out of data stored in OpenStreetMap.

A very detailed guide to the Overpass Query Language can be found in the OSM-Wiki.

#2

The Overpass API is used to display POIs out of OpenStreetMap on the maps on demo.transformap.co. [You can think of it as the SQL (Standard Query Language used for common databases) equivalent for OSM.]

Overpass Queries are in turn used to filter the huge OSM database for the POIs you want to display.
If you want e.g. a map of all community gardens, you would query for:

["leisure"="garden"]["garden:type"="community"]

A very detailed Guide to the Overpass Query Language can be found in the OSM-Wiki.