Geographic Biases Are 'Born, Not Made': Exploring Contributors' Spatiotemporal Behavior in OpenStreetMap

Abstract

The evolution of contributor behavior in peer production communities over time has been a subject of substantial interest in the social computing community. In this paper, we extend this literature to the geographic domain, exploring contribution behavior in OpenStreetMap using a spatiotemporal lens. In doing so, we observe a geographic version of a 'born, not made' phenomenon: throughout their lifespans, contributors are relatively consistent in the places and types of places that they edit. We show how these 'born, not made' trends may help explain the urban and socioeconomic coverage biases that have been observed in OpenStreetMap. We also discuss how our findings can help point towards solutions to these biases.