DuckDB - A game changer for analyzing OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is an invaluable resource for all kinds of geographic applications and research. This collection of voluntary geographic information provides highly detailed and semantically diverse data. For a recent paper, for example, I used OSM to derive local-scale public green availability in a nationwide analysis. At the start of the analysis, the question arose whether it was feasible at all to perform millions of spatial queries within an acceptable timeframe. After some testing, it became clear that the analyses I had in mind was feasible using a PostgreSQL/PostGIS database. This, however, came with the need for some tedious setup – at least for this use-case. ...