Key:disused
+/- disused=yes
A feature that has fallen into disuse, but which is still useful for navigation and visible in the landscape.
Used combinations in
In use |
Contents |
Summary
A disused feature is any man-made feature which is no longer used for its intended purpose, but which is still maintained and has repairs made. Reuse may be planned. Disused features are still useful for navigation and are visible in the landscape. Frequently these will be boarded-up buildings; for example, an old disused multi-storey car park. You would want it labelled if stood next to it trying to find where you are on a map but not if looking for somewhere to park.
"Disused" means that the feature could be brought back into use again for its original purpose or a similar one without requiring very extensive repair or structural alteration. For more serious levels of dereliction, consider using abandoned=* instead.
How to tag
- When a feature falls into disuse, begin by adding the tag disused=yes to it.
Adding this tag implies lots of things about the general level of human activity present in and around the object, but by itself isn't sufficient to describe the object's status consistently. To make the tags internally consistent: - You must also make any tags which no longer have current meaning as a result of the disuse unavailable to software which doesn't know about the disused=yes tag. This can be done by prefixing their keys with the namespace disused: — see the examples below.
Examples
| Image | Tagging | Description |
|---|---|---|
|
disused=yes disused:shop=yes |
A closed-down shop of some sort. If the type of shop it used to be is known, substitute the appropriate value from Key:shop for "yes". |
|
disused=yes disused:amenity=pub disused:operator=The Oxford Pub Company name=Fox & Hounds |
Boarded-up disused public house. It no longer has an operator as such - no beer is sold - but the name is still useful for navigation. |
|
disused=yes disused:leisure=pitch |
Disused pitch, now somewhat overgrown. |
Disabling no-longer-meaningful tags
This tag has a long and shambolic history, but is in use in the database. In practice, computer programs which use OSM data such as renderers or routing engines cannot be expected to distinguish between, say, a parking structure tagged just as amenity=parking, and one marked both amenity=parking and disused=yes without special rules. Therefore it's necessary to tweak the tagging so that such programs do not see confusing data.
In the spirit of the original proposal, and because the key was discussed and voted on, it makes most sense to move disused properties into a disused:* namespace prefix. This also solves the problem of potentially confusing data.
| Old tagging | Change | New tagging |
|---|---|---|
| amenity=pub | → Falls into disuse Update the map |
disused=yes disused:amenity=pub |
| amenity=parking capacity=20 disused=yes ☹ NOTE: this form makes the object's tagging inconsistent, and is STRONGLY discouraged. If you see instances of this, please fix them. |
→ Old-form "disused" tagging Resurvey and fix the tags |
disused=yes disused:amenity=parking disused:capacity=20 Much better! Software won't accidentally render it now, or direct drivers to boarded-up parking lots. The fact of disuse is captured concisely too. |
Using the namespace prefix also has the advantage of being easy to undo at a later date if the object goes back to its exact previous use.
Guidance and life-cycle
- Really this is only for objects which have no current functional use beyond their physical form.
- If the name is still meaningful to people and is still written on the building, by all means retain it (or perhaps move it to old_name=*.
- In general, retain tags which are still relevant, and move tags which aren't.
- An example: if the object is a building which has fallen into disuse but is still structurally sound, don't move its building=* tag into the disused: namespace. Just walls and a roof make it still a building, so that tag is still meaningful.
- If something comes back into use, be sure to clean up the entirety of the disused:*=* and disused=* namespace when you retag it.
Applies to
Any object.
