Proposal:Landuse=shrubs (Jeisenbe)

Landuse=shrubs
Proposal status:	Draft (under way)
Proposed by:	Jeisenbe
Tagging:	landuse=shrubs
Applies to:	area
Definition:	An area of cultivated decorative shrubs or bushes
Statistics:
Draft started:	2021-02-04

Proposal

The tag landuse=shrubs is proposed to map a shrubbery or area of cultivated shrubs, used to grow decorative woody perenial shrubs or bushes (which are shorter than trees). Often these features are found within a leisure=park or leisure=garden, or as landscaping at the edge of parking lots or around residential or commercial areas.

Applies to area elements.

Rationale

Currently there are tags for several types of landscaped or managed areas of vegetation found in developed areas, but there is no well-established tag for an area of shrubs (aka bushes) used for decoration or landscaping.

A line of shrubs which is grown as a hedge, to form a physical or visual barrier, is tagged as barrier=hedge but this is not really correct for an area of shrubs with space in between which does not form a linear barrier.

Many areas of shrubs are found within a park leisure=park or public garden leisure=garden feature, or in residential gardens. But while we have tags for areas of flower beds (landuse=flowerbed), lawns (landuse=grass), and areas of trees (natural=wood) which might be found in a park, garden or residential areas, we don't have a tag for cultivated shrubs which are decorative. The tag landuse=orchard is appropriate for shrubs which are grown to produce food, e.g. berry bushes, coffee shrubs, banana plants, but not for decorative shrubberies. landuse=plant_nursery is only for plant nurseries where plants, including shrubs, are grown to be sold and transplanted somewhere else.

Right now many of these areas are tagged with natural=scrub, but this is generally for a semi-natural or natural area of shrubs, and many mappers feel it is not appropriate for decorative landscaping or garden areas. As mentioned, other areas are tagged as barrier=hedge but this is also misleadgin.

Therefore, a new tag, landuse=shrubs is proposed to map a shrubbery or area of cultivated shrubs, used to grow decorative woody perenial shrubs or bushes.

The key landuse=* was chosen because it matches the use in the similar features landuse=flowerbed and landuse=grass for other types of urban or decorative landscaping. natural=shrubs was not chosen because it is too easily confused with natural=scrub and natural=shrub (used to map a single shrub, similar to natural=tree). The term "shrubs" was used because this is correct in British English and less specific than "shrubbery". The North American English term is "bushes" but this does not have the same meaning in international English.

Tagging

Create an area with a closed way (or rarely, with a multipolygon) and add the tag landuse=shrubs to map an area of cultivated decorative shrubs or bushes, which is not a hedge or agricultural plantation.

Possible existing tags which could be added in combination (These tags are already de facto or approved, and are not included in this proposal, but will be mentioned on the Tag:landuse=shrubs page)

• leaf_cycle=*
• leaf_type=*
• genus=*
• species=*
• taxon=*

See also these other tags which might be better choices in certain situations:

• natural=scrub - a semi-natural or natural area of shrubs
• natural=heath - a semi-natural or natural area of dwarf shrubs
• natural=wood and landuse=forest - areas of trees
• barrier=hedge - a continuous line of trimmed shrubs which is cultivated to form a barrier.
• landuse=flowerbed - a flowerbed, planted with flowering herbaceous plants
• leisure=garden - some gardens contain areas of shrubs
• landuse=plant_nursery - a plant nursery, where live plants, including shrubs, are grown for sale or transplant elsewhere
• landuse=orchard - an area of cultivated trees or shrubs grown for food, including berry bushes, coffee and tea shrubs.

Features/Pages affected

• Map_features
• Key:landuse
• Tag:landuse=shrubs

etc.

Comments

Please comment on the discussion page.