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Open Infrastructure Map

openinframap.org

187 pointsthrowup23839 comments

This is just power lines tagged in Open Street Maps. [Edit: as comments noted power is just the default view, this is still just human curated OSM data]

If you want telecom https://www.infrapedia.com/ is the go to source, but it requires a login. Carriers generally don't want their route maps publicly accessible unless you are committed to regularly updating them.

"Power" is the only layer enabled by default, but there are additional layers for Telecom, Oil & Gas, Water, and Solar.

Looks like openinframap has more towers, but infrapedia has some other data that's missing from openinfra.

It's not just power lines, there is a layers options where you can also show oil/gas pipelines, telecom lines, and solar generation.

If you're interested in mapping infrastructure, you may like Overpass Turbo.

It maps all kinds of stuff, selectable via queries, such as water fountains, parking lots, etc. I've always thought it could come in handy during times of emergency, such as if FEMA needed to inform citizens of certain resources in their vicinities.

https://overpass-turbo.eu/

Example 1] - Defaults to amenity=bottled_water -- Search & select "San Francisco" and click "Run" (Click "Load" for other demo options.)

[Example 2] - Parking lots in SF https://help.openstreetmap.org/questions/67865/overpass-turb...

Example 3] - Go back to the default example of bottled water: click "Load" --> select the "bottled_water" example. Now change [amenity=drinking_water] to ["shop"="butcher"]

[Example 4] - Multiple nodes, as categories of suppliers -- Paste this into the Overpass console: https://pastebin.com/Q4X2YPvj to see nodes where shop=butcher, farm, agrarian, greengrocer

More info on this QueryLanguage / API docs:

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:shop#Supplementary_t...

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Overpass_API/Overpass_QL

Open Infrastructure Map - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33340983 - Oct 2022 (2 comments)

Open Infrastructure Map - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29948473 - Jan 2022 (45 comments)

Open Infrastructure Map - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20523882 - July 2019 (4 comments)

What a fantastic site.

I was surprised to see that India appears to have a denser web of powerlines covering more of its area than the US and was wondering if this was a difference in data, but no, Wikipedia confirms:

> on average there is at least one HV line within a distance of 8.15 km) over the entire area of the country. This represents a total of almost 20% more HV transmission lines than that of the United States (322,000 km (200,000 mi) of 230 kV and above). However the Indian grid transmits far less electricity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_India#El...

India is about 1/3 the size of the US but with 4x the population.

So India is effectively 12x more dense/person/sq.km. than the US.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/India

Should we be marking key infrastructure, utilities don't distribute this information for a reason.

Yes we should. Security through obscurity is a myth

Doh, thinking about it through that lens makes it obvious!

And any above ground stuff is rather visible in any case, and mapped extensively on OpenStreetMap.

People used to get really upset about such datasets because terrorism/vandalism/etc. But eventually more sane opinions prevailed as attackers don't use this type of data - they either have insider knowledge already or just drive around to scope out targets.

DHS now publishes a ton of open datasets to help with disaster planning, emergency response, and infrastructure hardening. https://hifld-geoplatform.opendata.arcgis.com/search?collect...

:+1:

Used to?

A lot of that still happens, just instead of "terrorism", it's "crime". FOIA requests for locations of camera, alpr, and other massively used and unaudited surveillance equipment are routinely denied because it will "allow criminals to circumvent". It's all silly and benchmark moving.

Yes, used to. 15 years ago trying to publish research on critical infrastructure vulnerabilities would get you a visit from the FBI (ask me how I know). Now you get invited to DC to present it in person and your remediation suggestions are taken seriously.

Ok, mike_d, but how do you know?

Second that!

...that still doesn't mean they've stopped as a practice, on the whole, or through other intimidation methods. Hell, I'd argue that its current and subtle manifestation is more harmful on-the-whole than it used to be. Like, sure, the DHS voluntarily releases information, but that's discretionary and at their will. Eg, I sued the Chicago for database columns and table names after they argued it would be a security risk -- DHS gives that info about their own systems voluntarily. And that's even with case law from an ICE lawsuit that says schemas are exempt.

I get the feeling an adversary who wants to know where they can cause the most mayhem of this nature already does. I think a map is ultimately unnecessary anyway; I'd guess it's more appealing to sabotage remotely using computer networking vulnerabilities than to risk a field agent.

I rather appreciate knowing where the key electrical substations are in my area: helps me to understand exactly who can screw with things and where they would do it -- which makes me pay closer attention when I pass by substations and see someone lurking about. Not knowing that the location is critical I wouldn't think twice about someone loitering; knowing the location is sensitive and critical makes me look twice, take an active interest, and perhaps phone in a suspicious activity reports. Some people while about this information enabling terrorists: I think it enables all of us to open our eyes and protect our own interests.

So much geo stuff on HN today! hallelujah

Exactly, I already booked marked 3 maps in 10min!

oh dear, I wish I hadn't looked. So many of the power lines in my area have the wrong voltage, and zone substations with incorrect spellings. Now I feel obligated to fix it.

You say that like it's a bad thing!

Interesting to see that electric grids end at many country borders, e.g. China has just a handful of ties with Russia, none with Kazakhstan. India and Pakistan have no connections, just as India & Thailand. Pakistan has no connections with Iran. Vietnam & Laos border is clearly visible too.

There's still a visible border between East Block and their Western neighbors in Europe, and a little bit of exUSSR border (e.g. Belarus & Poland).

It’s great, gives a really good perspective about infra, and shows how Canada is basically like a a medium -or less state compared to the US.

I see some missing HV lines I know about, is there an easy way to add them?

The source of the maps is OpenStreetMap. These maps just expose the data contained in OpenStreetMap to highlight infrastructure components/ connections.

So any of the OpenStreetMap editors can be used to contribute.

Love this! Would be even better if there were labels / wiki links on the infrastructure. For instance, there's a huge pipeline across Asia, and I'd like to know what it's called,

Zoom in mate!

I find OSM maps in general have trouble showing labels, you often have to zoom in an extreme amount to see them, and you usually can't even click on features to see what they are.

"Layers icon-> Map Data" to turn on the clickable OSM data display.

Wikimapia has some of those, with links or sometimes descriptions with photos.

http://wikimapia.org

The areas with no lines - that's areas without ANY infrastructure or just areas where OpenStreetMap has no data?

Probably both, but note that a lot of areas only show down to 115kv which excludes all the distribution lines that feed homes and businesses.

Why are there underwater power lines connecting Ireland and the UK, for example?

To import and export electricity between the two islands.

https://www.eirgrid.ie/industry/interconnection

Realtime information of imports /exports: https://www.eirgrid.ie/grid/real-time-system-information

If you've never been to the northeastern US (Boston, New York, Philly, DC), it's like an entirely different country from most of the rest of the US. The map really speaks volumes.

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