Proposal:Civil Protection Areas
| Civil Protection Areas | |
|---|---|
| Proposal status: | Draft (under way) |
| Proposed by: | AndreaDp271 |
| Tagging: | emergency:*=*
|
| Applies to: |  
|
| Definition: | A tagging scheme to map officially designated areas for population and rescue management within civil protection and emergency plans. |
| Statistics: |
|
| Draft started: | 2025-10-08 |
Proposal
This proposal introduces four new emergency-related tags to map officially designated civil protection areas:
emergency:waiting_area=*– areas where the population temporarily gathers after evacuation.emergency:shelter_area=*– areas for shelter or temporary accommodation of the population.emergency:staging_area_rescue=*– areas for the assembly of rescue teams and resources.emergency:logistic_entry_rescue=*– points of access for emergency resources.
Rationale
Civil protection areas are officially designated locations used by authorities to manage emergencies, coordinate rescue operations, and provide temporary shelters.
Currently, there is no consistent tagging scheme to represent these areas, despite their importance for emergency planning, disaster response, and public safety mapping.
Sometimes, users mistakenly map them using emergency=assembly_point, the only existing tag that seems to describe these areas.
The proposed tags allow mappers to map:
- areas where the population gathers after evacuation
emergency:waiting_area=*; - locations providing shelter or temporary accommodation
emergency:shelter_area=*; - staging areas for rescue teams and resources
emergency:staging_area_rescue=*; - points of access for emergency logistics
emergency:logistic_entry_rescue=*.
These tags complement existing emergency=* values, such as emergency=assembly_point or emergency:social_facility=shelter, allowing finer distinction between different functions within civil protection areas.
The scheme is compatible with global emergency tagging practices while also addressing specific mapping needs in Italy.
Differences with emergency=assembly_point
The existing tag emergency=assembly_point is intended for Emergency Assembly Points at a single building or public location, such as schools, offices, companies, gyms, or other public-use facilities.
The main differences with civil protection areas mapped by the proposed tags are:
- Scale and context:
emergency=assembly_pointrefers to a single building or complex, whereas civil protection areas (emergency:waiting_area=*,emergency:shelter_area=*, etc.) can cover an entire neighborhood, district, or municipal zone. - Management of people: At an assembly point, internal staff performs roll-calls; in civil protection areas, personnel from the Civil Protection Department or volunteers manage the population, providing assistance, information, and coordination.
- Services available: Assembly points usually have no additional services, while waiting or shelter areas may include tents, first aid, water, food, and psychological support.
- Accessibility and safety: Assembly points must be easily reachable from the building; civil protection areas must be safe from external hazards and able to handle large flows of people.
- Duration: Assembly points are typically used for a few minutes or hours; civil protection areas may be active for several hours or days, until transfer to shelters or the end of the emergency.
- Regulations: Assembly points are regulated by internal evacuation plans and fire safety rules (e.g., DM 2-3/09/2021 in Italy), whereas civil protection areas are defined in municipal civil protection plans and operational guidelines (Italy, 2015).
Summary: While emergency=assembly_point is intended for specific buildings or small locations, the proposed tags map larger areas with distinct operational functions, complementing the existing tag rather than replacing it.
Differences with emergency:social_facility=shelter
The existing tag emergency:social_facility=shelter is intended only for a single building, typically used as a shelter in emergencies (e.g., school, community center, or other facility). The available documentation provides very limited information on what happens in these locations during emergencies.
The main differences with the proposed emergency:shelter_area=* tag are:
- Scale and context:
emergency:social_facility=shelterrefers to a single building, whereasemergency:shelter_area=*is designed for larger areas, such as parks, squares, or open spaces within a neighborhood, chosen for temporary deployment of tents or other emergency structures. - Flexibility:
emergency:shelter_area=*allows mapping areas that may serve multiple emergency functions (waiting, shelter, staging), thanks to the use of the emergency namespace, which is not possible with a fixed value likeemergency:social_facility=shelter.
Summary: While emergency:social_facility=shelter describes a specific building, emergency:shelter_area=* enables mapping of larger designated areas prepared for temporary population accommodation during emergencies.
Tagging
| Tag | Value | Elements | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
emergency:waiting_area=* |
yes | |
Area where the population temporarily gathers after evacuation, prior to transfer to shelters or receiving assistance. | Population waits for instructions from civil protection on whether to return home or be moved to emergency:shelter_area=*.
|
emergency:shelter_area=* |
yes | |
Area designated for temporary shelter or accommodation of people during emergencies. | May include tents, first aid, water, food, and psychological support. |
emergency:staging_area_rescue=* |
yes | |
Area used for assembly of rescue teams, vehicles, and resources before deployment. | Managed by civil protection personnel or volunteers. |
emergency:logistic_entry_rescue=* |
yes | |
Point of access for emergency resources, vehicles, and logistical operations. | Ensures safe and organized entry into operational zones. |
Recommended details: name=*, operator=*, ref=*, source=*
Areas should be mapped as:
- Separate points representing the physical sign location.
- Including the properties of the designated area (e.g., park, parking lot, square) by adding the appropriate tags.
Some areas may be merged at the same point if they are very close or share the same operational function.
Why use the emergency:* namespace?
Using the emergency:* namespace instead of a single emergency=* value allows mappers to represent multiple emergency-related functions within the same feature.
For example, a sports field or a large parking lot may serve both as a waiting area and as a shelter area:
This approach provides more flexibility and better reflects how civil protection areas are managed in real life, where a single location can cover several operational roles.
The use of the emergency: prefix follows existing international conventions, as documented in Key:emergency:*, where it is used in Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan to map designated emergency facilities that normally serve another primary purpose (e.g., schools, community centers, parks).
By adopting the same structure, the proposed scheme remains technically consistent, globally compatible, and easily extendable for future emergency-related features.
Examples
Tag Info
Features/Pages affected
External discussions
Italian proposal and discussion: [proposal]
Comments
Please comment on the discussion page.