[OSM-dev] determining the boundaries of cities?

[Ákos Maróy]

On 31/05/12 08:18, Peter Wendorff wrote:
> I think, that's legally correct, but probably not, what is needed here.
> Even if legally every location is legally assigned to a city and legally
> part of it, it's not what a map should show in every case.
> A map that should show cities may be targeted on the city as a social,
> cultural entity, not as a legal one.

indeed.

also while the neighboring area might in some legal sense be connected
to the city, in a lot of ways, it's not.

for example when you drive on the road, you encounter a city limit sign
at the end of the city, and then afterwards you can drive with different
speed limits.

also, within city limits, there are certain services the city provides,
like a residential road, water, electricity, gas, public lighting, etc.
outside of the city this is not provided.

this is the city limit I'm looking for

> Therefore perhaps the area with continuous cover of buildings is the
> target, which corresponds to the reality in the sense of "realizing" it
> if you go out.

my hope was that landuse="residential" would show this aspect, but it
doesn't :(

what is the intended way of showing what is an urban area, and what is
rural?