Getting started with osmnxr

What is osmnxr?

osmnxr is OSMnx for R: it downloads, models, analyzes and visualizes street networks from OpenStreetMap. The public API is tidyverse-friendly and returns sf objects; the heavy graph computation (routing, metrics, simplification) runs in a bundled Rust core.

The central object is the osm_graph: a pair of sf tables (nodes and edges) plus metadata.

A real network

The usual entry point is a place name, which downloads from OpenStreetMap:

g <- ox_graph_from_place("Olinda, Brazil", network_type = "drive")
g <- ox_simplify(g)

So this vignette runs offline, we load that exact network — the historic centre of Olinda, Brazil — from the copy bundled with the package:

g <- ox_example("olinda")
g
#> 
#> ── osm_graph ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
#> 498 nodes, 1191 edges
#> Network type: "unknown"
#> Simplified: FALSE
#> CRS: "WGS 84"

plot(g)

Network statistics

ox_basic_stats(g)
#> # A tibble: 1 × 7
#>   n_nodes n_edges total_length mean_length mean_out_degree self_loops circuity
#>     <int>   <int>        <dbl>       <dbl>           <dbl>      <int>    <dbl>
#> 1     498    1191       95484.        80.2            2.39          1     1.06

Routing

Snap coordinates to graph nodes, then compute the shortest path (Dijkstra, in Rust):

orig <- ox_nearest_nodes(g, x = -34.8553, y = -8.0089)
dest <- ox_nearest_nodes(g, x = -34.8505, y = -8.0125)
route <- ox_shortest_path(g, orig, dest)
length(route) # nodes along the route
#> [1] 8

route_xy <- sf::st_coordinates(g$nodes)[match(route, g$nodes$osmid), ]
plot(g, col = "grey80", lwd = 0.6)
lines(route_xy, col = "#b7410e", lwd = 3)

Where to next

• Routing and isochrones — travel time, route alternatives, service areas.
• Urban metrics — circuity, centrality, chokepoints.
• Street orientation — grid order across cities.
• Accessibility analysis — access to schools, hospitals, parks.
• Features and points of interest — download POIs and buildings.

No network needed at all? example_osm_graph() builds a synthetic grid for quick experiments.