Spatial data infrastructures for cities in developing countries

Abstract. Geo-information techniques have proven their usefulness for the purposes of early warning and emergency response. These techniques enable us to generate extensive geo-information to make informed decisions in response to natural disasters that lead to better protection of citizens, reduce damage to property, improve the monitoring of these disasters, and facilitate estimates of the damages and losses resulting from them. The maintenance and accessibility of spatial information has improved enormously with the development of spatial data infrastructures (SDIs), especially with second-generation SDIs, in which the original product-based SDI was improved to a process-based SDI. Through the use of SDIs, geo-information is made available to local, national and international organisations in regions affected by natural disasters as well as to volunteers serving in these areas. Volunteer-based systems for information collection (e.g., Ushahidi) have been created worldwide. However, the use of 3D maps is still limited. This paper discusses the applicability of 3D geo-information to disaster management. We discuss some important aspects of maps for disaster management, such as user-centred maps, the necessary components for 3D maps, symbols, and colour schemas. In addition, digital representations are evaluated with respect to their visual controls, i.e., their usefulness for the navigation and exploration of the information. Our recommendations are based on responses from a variety of users of these technologies, including children, geospecialists and disaster managers from different countries.

The development of a spatial data infrastructure to support marine spatial planning in Greece

This paper elaborates research prospects in the recent scenario, which identifies the use of Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) in the design of interdisciplinary geo-information systems for decision support systems to handle energy linked disasters at different scales for all user groups. The realization of the SDI potential as subsidiary for resolving sustainable local & global energy complications depends on multiple factors including reliable access to well-harmonized information. The work also introduces to an emerging digital geo-information infrastructure and policy framework at global, regional, national and local levels. The concept of SDI as a tool presents the notion for networked SDIs, designed and implemented to serve various specific applications at the national, regional or municipal level. Handling energy linked disasters could be such an application sector. The work illuminates the necessity of the legal and regulatory changes to be done in order to achieve the SDI framework. The work wishes at comprehending role of SDI in providing policy solutions for complex problems embedded with energy linked disaster caused due to conflict over energy issues with a scientific challenge. The work also examines the relationship between competition for energy resources and the inclination for conflict in the coming future taking the argument well beyond issues of energy politics and the significance of oil and gas to the global market, the work offers significant new findings concerning the impact of energy wealth on life and the economies. It also explores the ways attempting to uphold the energy interests in the newly independent states, and the impact of competition on regional security. Believe it or not, conflict is an untapped source for creativity and energy. The paper proposes a prototype with a set of recommended practices in the development of SDI on clear political accountability to its integrity to address the role as a framework for facilitating local and global energy linked disaster. It is discussed that the design and implementation of an SDI model framework can assist the managing agencies to improve the quality of their decision-makings at all level of the activities. This includes the development of a prototype web-based system which can facilitate sharing, access and use of data in energy linked disaster management and especially disaster response.

In the wake of the so-called information technology revolution, many stakeholders from the public and private sectors (including citizens) have indeed grown accustomed to the promise and usability of spatial data infrastructures (SDI) for data access, use, and sharing. Analyzing the obstacles as well as the processes and mechanisms of integration and implementation, Spatial Data Infrastructures in Context: North and South investigates the technological and the non-technological aspects of the widespread adoption of spatial data infrastructures. Supporting theoretical issues with empirical studies, the editors pay particular attention to the non-technological aspects of organizational, financial, and legal issues including owner rights, liability, copyrights, and compatibility with precedent and supercedent laws. The authors also highlight the importance of understanding the local environment and circumstances in the process of tailoring the approaches to the conditions that characterize societies of different cultural, institutional, and economic settings. Designed to improve the accessibility, interoperability, and affordability of spatial data, the book focuses on the increasing challenges associated with integrating individuals and organizations into a network to support (1) public authorities and administrations at various levels, (2) thematic user communities, (3) enterprises, and (4) citizen-oriented society as a whole. It addresses the implementation and development of spatial data infrastructures for a wide range of themes, applicable technical standards and protocols, and specific organizational issues unique to data policy. Highlighting the potential for profound changes to the access, use, and exchange of spatial data for citizens, organizations, and geographically related applications, and therefore to the role and interaction of the stakeholders from the public and private sectors, this timely contribution provides new insights into improving our understanding of the increasing relevance, applicability, and value of spatial data infrastructures.

OGC Catalog Services: a key element for the development of Spatial Data Infrastructures

In this thesis, concepts for developing Spatial Data Infrastructures with an emphasis on visualizing 3D landscape and city models in distributed environments are discussed. Spatial Data Infrastructures are important for public authorities in order to perform tasks on a daily basis, and serve as research topic in geo-informatics. Joint initiatives at national and international level exist for harmonizing procedures and technologies. Interoperability is an important aspect in this context - as enabling technology for sharing, distributing, and connecting geospatial data and services. The Open Geospatial Consortium is the main driver for developing international standards in this sector and includes government agencies, universities and private companies in a consensus process. 
\n3D city models are becoming increasingly popular not only in desktop Virtual Reality applications but also for being used in professional purposes by public authorities. Spatial Data Infrastructures focus so far on the storage and exchange of 3D building and elevation data. For efficient streaming and visualization of spatial 3D data in distributed network environments such as the internet, concepts from the area of real time 3D Computer Graphics must be applied and combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). For example, scene graph data structures are commonly used for creating complex and dynamic 3D environments for computer games and Virtual Reality applications, but have not been introduced in GIS so far. 
\nIn this thesis, several aspects of how to create interoperable and service-based environments for 3D spatial data are addressed. These aspects are covered by publications in journals and conference proceedings. The introductory chapter provides a logic succession from geometrical operations for processing raw data, to data integration patterns, to system designs of single components, to service interface descriptions and workflows, and finally to an architecture of a complete distributed service network.
\nDigital Elevation Models are very important in 3D geo-visualization systems. Data structures, methods and processes are described for making them available in service based infrastructures. A specific mesh reduction method is used for generating lower levels of detail from very large point data sets. An integration technique is presented that allows the combination with 2D GIS data such as roads and land use areas. This approach allows using another optimization technique that greatly improves the usability for immersive 3D applications such as pedestrian navigation: flattening road and water surfaces. It is a geometric operation, which uses data structures and algorithms found in numerical simulation software implementing Finite Element Methods. 
\n3D Routing is presented as a typical application scenario for detailed 3D city models. Specific problems such as bridges, overpasses and multilevel networks are addressed and possible solutions described. The integration of routing capabilities in service infrastructures can be accomplished with standards of the Open Geospatial Consortium. An additional service is described for creating 3D networks and for generating 3D routes on the fly. Visualization of indoor routes requires different representation techniques.
\nAs server interface for providing access to all 3D data, the Web 3D Service has been used and further developed. Integrating and handling scene graph data is described in order to create rich virtual environments. Coordinate transformations of scene graphs are described in detail, which is an important aspect for ensuring interoperability between systems using different spatial reference systems. The Web 3D Service plays a central part in nearly all experiments that have been carried out. It does not only provide the means for interactive web-visualizations, but also for performing further analyses, accessing detailed feature information, and for automatic content discovery.
\nOpenStreetMap and other worldwide available datasets are used for developing a complete architecture demonstrating the scalability of 3D Spatial Data Infrastructures. Its suitability for creating 3D city models is analyzed, according to requirements set by international standards. A full virtual globe system has been developed based on OpenStreetMap including data processing, database storage, web streaming and a visualization client.
\nResults are discussed and compared to similar approaches within geo-informatics research, clarifying in which application scenarios and under which requirements the approaches in this thesis can be applied.
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The application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the work of government bodies, economic subjects and units of regional and local self-government presents the real situation today in every European country, as well as in its regions. The organisation of collecting, storing, distribution and usage of spatial data, in accordance with the principals of spatial data infrastructure (SDI) presents the next (higher) level in the application of spatial data and GIS. Rapid development of GIS application in the last decade highlights two problems in the efficient usage of GIS technologies, entailing the usage of spatial data in general. The first problem is the lack of the concept in organising the spatial data that has been solved basically through the development of IPP concept. The other problem lies in the fact that the subjects and the users do not have enough knowledge of GIS and IPP. Therefore, special attention has been paid within the frame of INSPIRE project to the development of education concept for the subjects and users of IPP, in order to provide the possibility for them to use the advantages offered by the concept of enhanced technologies and IPP itself. The paper presents the current situation in the education referring to GIS and IPP, and describes the activities carried out for the purpose of creating the environment that would provide quicker and more efficient implementation of National SDI (NSDI) based on better information given to the subjects and users.

This paper addresses the state of spatial data infrastructures within North America in late 1997. After providing some background underlying the philosophy and development of the SDI concept, the authors discuss effects of technology, institutions, and standardization that confront the cohesive implementation of a common infrastructure today. The paper concludes with a comparative framework and specific examples of elements and initiatives defining respective spatial data infrastructure initiatives in the United States and Canada.

Transitional economies with large geographical areas (such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China) represent both a challenge and an opportunity for the creation of spatial data infrastructures (SDIs). Setting up an SDI in transitional economies is critically dependent on the diffusion of geographical information systems technology in public and private institutions. We use Rogers's diffusion of innovations model to study how geographic information system (GIS) technology was introduced in a transitional economy (Brazil). Because GIS technology is nonneutral, we use actor network theory to explain the roles and importance of each of the main actors in the Brazilian case. We conclude by discussing the policy choices for making the Brazilian SDI sustainable, including both the open access to data and the use of open software. The Brazilian experience points out that public policies focused on the organization of SDI in transitional economies in midsized and large countries should promote the growth of collaborative networks. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Spatial Data Infrastructure

Abstract. Education on spatial data infrastructures is an important building block of study programs focusing on spatial data. The focus is on equipping students with essential skills for future contributions to spatial data infrastructure development and application. Despite a wide range of available teaching materials, their reuse is hindered by a lack of harmonization and integration into learning modules. This paper reports on the activities in the "Open Educational Resources for Spatial Data Infrastructures" (OER4SDI) project, which addresses this gap by developing easily reusable teaching materials for spatial data infrastructures. OER4SDI strives to create high-quality, findable, accessible, interoperable, and easily reusable (FAIR) educational resources, fostering efficient knowledge exchange in the field of spatial data infrastructures. The project puts a special focus on the modularity of open educational resources to enable reuse in a wide variety of settings. We describe the workflows and technical setup we use to enable collaborative development of open educational resources and their continuous revision, which is vital in this rapidly evolving field. Three example open educational resources for spatial data infrastructures are given, dealing with the "AAA Data Catalog", "OGC Open API Features", and "Knowledge Graphs". We share the lessons learned from the project to foster the development of more high-quality open educational resources in our community.

With the dramatic development of spatial data infrastructure, CyberGIS has become significant for geospatial data sharing. Due to the large number of concurrent users and large volume of vector data, CyberGIS faces a great challenge in how to improve performance. The real-time visualization of vector maps is themost common function in CyberGIS applications, and it is time-consuming especially when the data volume becomes large. So, how to improve the efficiency of visualization of large vector maps is still a significant research direction for GIScience scientists. In this research, we review the existing three optimization strategies, and determine that the third category strategy (i.e., parallel optimization) is appropriate for the real-time visualization of large vector maps. One of the key issues of parallel optimization is how to decompose the real-time visualization tasks into balanced sub tasks while taking into consideration the spatial heterogeneous characteristics. We put forward some rules that the decomposition should conform to, and design a real-time visualization framework for large vector maps. We focus on a balanced decomposition approach that can assure efficiency and effectiveness. Considering the spatial heterogeneous characteristic of vector data, we use a "horizontal grid, verticalmultistage" approach to construct a spatial point distribution information grid. The load balancer analyzes the spatial characteristics of the map requests and decomposes the real-time viewshed into multiple balanced sub viewsheds. Then, all the sub viewsheds are distributed to multiple server nodes to be executed in parallel, so as to improve the realtime visualization efficiency of large vector maps. A group of experiments have been conducted by us. The analysis results demonstrate that the approach proposed in this research has the ability of balanced decomposition, and it is efficient and effective for all geometry types of vector data.

National and international programs dealing with spatial data infrastructures (SDI) made it possible to compile a uniform digital base and a universal toolkit for the integrated description of territories on global to national scales. Atlas information systems (AIS) are considered to be an integrating tool for diverse information resources (modelling, visualisation and analysis), as well as for the elaboration of various scenarios and the possible development of alternatives for such complex systems as those of nature-society-economy. As there is an increased use of digital maps at spatial data infrastructures all aspects related to geographical names are of particular importance in this application of AIS to SDI. It is important to realise a toponymic project, dealing with place-names and their variants depending on the language and time period when a specific place-name was used. The layer of geographical names is considered to be one of the three most important data components of AIS.

Economic growth rate of any country largely depends on the development of mineral sector. Then, the level of technology employed for meeting the extraction conditions must meet environmental norms. Exploration of mineral resources in India and mining is a ready application for technologies for ensuring productivity and efficiency. Use of Geographical Information System (GIS) in mineral resources management is of great help, where each stakeholder can access, use and exchange spatial and nonspatial data for social, economic and environmental activities. With development of communication and information technology, integration of heterogeneous repository of data from the different data sources can be achieved by using Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). At the present scenario, the dynamic updating of data, data analysis, data visualisation and data uploading are lacking in most of the information system in GIS environment. For real time integrated mineral resources information monitoring, it is essential to integrate information system with geospatial database. Visualisation of integrated mineral resources information is possible on the desktop environment with the help of GIS. But it is not sufficient for updating the data in dynamic environment. It may be possible to perform dynamic tasks like update, analysis and visualisation of mineral resources information through the mobile devices with the modern high end mobile communication infrastructure. It makes it possible and very useful to take the decision at anytime from anywhere in the world. The data repositories can also be timely updated with the help of common mobile devices from any location, of course with security measure in place. In the present work, a three tier secure framework has been proposed for the mobile based SDI Model for the better management of mineral resources information infrastructure with the use of mobile devices by the integration of geospatial database. The interaction between the various services in the proposed Model has been modeled by using Unified Modeling Language (UML) use case and activity diagrams.

Geographical information (GI) and spatial data infrastructure (SDI) has gained increasing awareness among researchers as well as among executive level managers and politicians. In Europe especially the adoption of the INSPIRE Directive has put spatial data infrastructure on the agendas of the parliaments combined with national e-Government strategies. In Denmark this top-down approach to development of e-Government has been combined with an informal, bottom-up approach with a focus on standardisation, the use of geographical information systems (GIS) and IT-architecture. Though, dealing with the transformation of procedures relating to traditional parts of the Danish public administration lack of awareness regarding place and location as integrative infrastructural elements is still a challenge. This paper will present the Danish case of digitalising the administration of real property rights as means of analysing the potentials as well as challenges in fulfilling the vision of a spatially enabled digital government.