# Usefulness of OSM and BDOT10k Data for Developing Tactile Maps of Historic Parks
## 1 Introduction
Such people read maps mainly with the sense of touch, sometimes supported by their impaired eyesight. For them to be able to read tactile maps using touch, both the scope of the content and the way in which it is presented should be adapted to their perceptual capabilities [31; 32]. Therefore, the content of each tactile map must be highly generalised, both in terms of the concepts used to describe individual elements and in terms of the graphic (tactile) form of their representation [33; 34; 35]. What is more, when designing tactile maps, the principles of the ergonomics of using typhographic materials should be taken into account, so that the use of such a map is convenient, safe, and effective. An example of thematic maps for the visually impaired is maps of historical parks, which are the most popular historical attractions visited by blind people, and the large number of parks make them a significant part of the cultural heritage of each country. As the parks were created at different times, they were designed in different styles. Each style has its own features, characteristic of a given period and the prevailing trends in garden design [36]. These features are related to the presence of specific objects in the park as well as to their distribution and mutual relations. All this means that the park complex is a harmonious whole. determining the uniqueness of the composition of the park as well as the style in which it was designed [37]. Maps of parks also provide information about nature, as they present the condition, specific style elements, and forms of protection; they make it possible to analyse the processes that occur in nature at various scales. Developing tactile maps of historic parks' spatial data requires providing information about unique style features. Therefore, the aim of the article is to assess the usability of the OSM (OpenStreetMap) and BDOT10k (Baza Danych Obiektow Topograficznych (theTopographic Objects Database)) open data provided by the Central Office of Geodesy and Cartography, for the purpose of tactile mapping historic parks. The contribution of research to the existing knowledge primarily concerns the use of existing spatial data sources to develop such tactile maps, which are not navigation maps but that perform purely cognitive or educational functions. The tactile maps developed so far were mainly used to navigate in space, to get from one place to another one. The use of topographic or general geographic databases for the development of such maps is relatively simple, as they always contain the basic objects necessary for navigation. In our research, we want to show that it is also possible to use the existing spatial databases for the development of thematic tactile maps. The main purpose of such maps is to learn about the features or phenomena, and their content requires specific, thematic content elements that provide--in our case--historical knowledge and cultural characteristics. Such maps are used for cognition and education, rather than navigation. Obtaining their thematic content is time-consuming and requires specialist knowledge; therefore, it is advisable to use the potential of already existing databases, at least partially. With our research, we would like to fill this gap. In our research, data usefulness is assessed for the development of tactile maps of park gardens in five styles: Baroque, Renaissance, Landscape/English, Romantic/Sentimental, and Oriental/Japanese. Assessment is motivated by the concern of how well the database is suitable for the intended use. Therefore, the following research questions were posed during the research:  
* Which of the databases is better for the development of tactile maps of parks? * To what extent can BDOT10k and OSM be useful for tactile park maps' development? * Which park styles are the BDOT10k and OSM data the most appropriate for? The current state of knowledge shows the shortcomings in the assessment of the usefulness of data for the development of tactile maps, in particular those that present parks in different styles.