About our data sources

This article explains where our child-friendly infrastructure data comes from, how we process it, how often we refresh it, and how you can help keep it accurate. In short: we stand on the shoulders of open data communities and official registries to power a fast, map-first experience for discovering playgrounds, kindergartens, schools, and family-friendly places worldwide.

What we use

• OpenStreetMap (OSM) for playgrounds, parks, and recreational facilities
• Official government registries for kindergartens and schools
• Municipal open data portals for sports facilities and youth centers
• Community-contributed data for amenities and accessibility information
• Healthcare facility databases for pediatric services

We do not scrape private data, collect information about children, or purchase commercial listings. Our emphasis is on open, auditable sources that respect privacy and benefit families everywhere.

Source breakdown

• OpenStreetMap (playgrounds and recreational facilities)

  • We rely on community-maintained points of interest for playgrounds, parks, sports facilities, play areas, and family-friendly amenities.
  • OSM data includes valuable details like equipment types, surface materials, accessibility features, and age recommendations.
  • OSM data is governed by the ODbL license. See: OpenStreetMap Copyright

• Educational institution registries

  • We reference official government databases for kindergartens, preschools, primary schools, and secondary schools.
  • Data typically includes names, addresses, contact information, enrollment capacity, and accreditation status.
  • Most educational registries are public records maintained by national or regional education authorities.

• Municipal open data

  • We integrate data from city and regional open data portals for libraries, youth centers, community centers, and cultural facilities.
  • Municipal data often includes operating hours, programs offered, and accessibility information.

• Healthcare facilities

  • We reference public healthcare directories for pediatric clinics, children’s hospitals, and family health centers.
  • Healthcare data helps families locate nearby medical services for children.

Processing pipeline (high-level)

1. Ingest: We import fresh OSM planet extracts and official registry data into our processing system.
2. Filter: We select only facilities relevant to children and families (playgrounds, schools, kindergartens, youth centers, family services).
3. Normalize: We standardize names, categories, addresses, and amenity types; we derive display-friendly fields and compute geospatial centroids.
4. Enrich: We add accessibility information, age ranges, equipment details, and user-contributed reviews where available.
5. Validate: We cross-reference official registries with OSM data to identify and resolve discrepancies.
6. Export: We produce optimized datasets for fast client-side maps and server-side APIs.

The repository layout reflects this architecture: the kindermap.data project handles ingestion and processing; the com-kindermap web app consumes these exports for the map interface.

Categories and facility types

We organize child-friendly infrastructure into several categories:

• Playgrounds (public parks, school playgrounds, indoor play areas)
• Educational facilities (kindergartens, preschools, primary schools, secondary schools)
• Sports and recreation (sports fields, swimming pools, skating rinks, climbing walls)
• Healthcare (pediatric clinics, children’s hospitals, family health centers)
• Cultural facilities (libraries, museums with children’s programs, theaters)
• Youth services (youth centers, community centers, after-school programs)

If you notice a facility mis-categorized or missing important details, it’s often due to incomplete upstream data. Contributing to OpenStreetMap or contacting facility administrators helps everyone.

Update cadence

• OSM-derived facilities: Weekly refreshes to capture new playgrounds, updated amenities, and infrastructure changes
• Educational registries: Monthly updates as government databases are refreshed
• Municipal data: Quarterly updates aligned with city data portal release schedules
• Healthcare facilities: Semi-annual updates from official health registries

Data quality and corrections

• Ground truth lives in OpenStreetMap and official registries. If an address, status, or facility details are incorrect, please update them at the source.
• For playgrounds and parks: Update OSM directly with details about equipment, surfaces, accessibility, and age appropriateness.
• For schools and kindergartens: Contact the educational institution or local education authority to update official records.
• For duplicates or obvious errors: Open an issue in our project repository or contact us directly.

Your corrections at the source benefit not only Kindermap but also countless other projects and services.

Privacy and child safety

We take child safety and privacy extremely seriously:

• We do not collect, store, or display any personal information about children.
• We do not track individual users or create profiles of families.
• Facility data is public infrastructure information only (locations, amenities, contact details).
• We do not allow user-generated photos of children or any content that could identify specific children.
• Location services (“find near me”) use only device-level geolocation and do not store individual histories.

Parents and guardians should always verify facility information and assess safety in person before visits.

Licensing and attribution

• OpenStreetMap data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under ODbL. See: OpenStreetMap Copyright
• Educational registries: Public domain or open data licenses from government authorities
• Municipal open data: Licensed according to each municipality’s open data policy (typically CC BY or equivalent)

If you reuse our compiled datasets, please retain source attributions and follow the terms of the original data providers.

Accessibility information

We strive to include accessibility details for families with special needs:

• Wheelchair accessibility for playgrounds and facilities
• Equipment suitable for children with disabilities
• Sensory-friendly spaces and quiet areas
• Accessible pathways and parking
• Facilities with changing tables and family restrooms

If you know of accessibility features not reflected in our data, please contribute this information to OpenStreetMap or contact us.

Data quality metrics

We maintain quality through:

• Validation against official registries (95%+ match rate for schools and kindergartens)
• Cross-referencing multiple data sources to resolve conflicts
• Community reporting system for errors and updates
• Regular audits of high-traffic areas and popular facilities
• Age verification of data (facilities with outdated information are flagged)

Contributing

You can help improve child-friendly infrastructure data by:

• Adding and updating playground information in OpenStreetMap (equipment, surfaces, age ranges)
• Photographing facilities (exteriors only, no photos of children)
• Reporting missing or incorrect facility information
• Contributing accessibility details for families with special needs
• Verifying operating hours and contact information
• Reporting closed or relocated facilities

Changelog for this article

• 2025-09-01: First public version.