Key:location
 location
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| Description |
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To define the location of a feature which may be above or under ground or in relation to objects such as roofs, bridges or buildings. 
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| Group: properties |
| Used on these elements |
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| Documented values: 10 |
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Status: approved
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The generic key location=* is used in different contexts to define the location of a feature which may be above or under ground or to define location in relation to objects such as roofs, bridges or buildings. Used with features such as man_made=pipeline and power=cable which may be buried in the soil.
For features which are contained within a self-supporting tunnel, which may also be used for other purposes or provided for maintenance purposes, use tunnel=* instead. A buried cable is usually surrounded by earth. A cable in a tunnel is usually surrounded by air within a larger self-supporting structure.
Use of the layer=* tag is optional and only useful where there is a benefit to describing the relative vertical arrangement of a number of underground (or overgound) features. It is assumed that features that cross which are tagged with 'location' which do not share nodes will not actually interact with other features which also use 'location' (unlike roads/ railways and rivers etc where they need to be on different layers if they do not intersect).
Values
- location=underground - Used where a feature is mainly under ground, may still be visible or accessible from the surface.
- location=underwater - Used for features below the surface of water. For underwater features at sea, you may additionally want to add tags according to the Seamark tagging scheme.
- location=overground - Used where a feature such as a pipeline or cable is over ground, located close to the surface, not allowing a person or vehicle to pass underneath.
- location=overhead - Used for features over ground, located at a height allowing persons or vehicles to pass underneath.
- location=roof - Used where a feature is located on the roof of a building.
- location=rooftop - possible synonym for roof (makes it clear it is on top of the roof). Only ~0.6% usage compared to roof.
- location=surface - Feature is on the surface of the ground, useful where it is not obvious that object is on the ground.
The power=substation tagging scheme formally defined for the first time a number of further values for location=*, see Tag:power=substation. Some of these values may also be useful for other features.
- location=outdoor - A feature substantially located outside in open air although some parts, (such as lower voltage switchgear of a substation), may be indoor. This is the default value for most objects. One of the exceptions is power=cable.
- location=indoor - A feature substantially located inside a building. Certain components, (like the transformers of a substation), may be located outside the building.
- location=platform - A feature located on an offshore platform, for example associated with an offshore wind farm.
Pending proposals
- location=bridge - An object or way that is on a bridge, from this proposal. There is also the much more used bridge=* with the same meaning.
Possible tagging mistakes
- location=some road or place name. The location tag was not intended for anything like [1]. Consider using an address.
See also
- indoor=*
- outdoor=*
- rooftop=*
- 2014 approved proposal: Proposed features/PipelineExtension
- 2016 approved proposal: Proposed features/Power switching extension