does open-street map to landscape elevation? for an example a shoreline like Miami beach? also, what about buildings. I know you can get width but what about height? 1-100 story etc? I have been studying 3d modeling for 2 years but now I want to learn more about landscapes for my models and I found this software on youtube. I think it would help a lot for landscape scenes. with google earth which this may have the same issue too is, i can’t find certain areas where I can go and be at street view. so I can’t measure things or hill elevation, angles etc.
OSM does not map topography. Maps like the cyclemap integrate third party data to provide contours. Spot elevations may be mapped, but this is rare: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:height#Elevation_above_mean_sea_level
OSM does allow number of storeys to be mapped, but this information is patchy, as it can generally only be obtained by on the ground surveys, whereas outlines are often traced from, suitably licensed, aerial imagery, or even from, suitably licensed, or in the USA, even public domain maps… New York, reportedly, has very good coverage. Building height can also be mapped, but is more difficult to survey accurately.