Open standards for sharing electric power usage data

Change is coming...

http://geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2011/12/open-standards-for-sharing-electric-power-usage-data.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fzeissg%2Fgeospatial+%28Between+the+Poles%29

Free Processing Tools for ESRI software

For those of you with Arcview licenses, these tools can expand your processing options and for those with ArcEditor or ArcInfo there are still some useful tools here:

http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/dailynews/2011/nov/14/news2.html

Pictometry Launches New Sketch Verification Report for Assessors

Some of you have access to Pictometry data and might find this interesting:

http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/dailynews/2011/dec/07/news2.html

Metadata Tips and Tricks

Further to our discussion at the last Technical Committee meeting, I found a free, 60 minute Tips and Tricks training seminar on the ESRI training website on Metadata.

http://training.esri.com/gateway/index.cfm?fa=catalog.webCourseDetail&courseid=1272

Oregon, Montana, Utah and Colorado Partner to Share GIS Data in the Cloud

A parnership of US States has decided to store GIS data in the Cloud. Read more here:

http://www.govtech.com/technology/Oregon-Montana-Utah-and-Colorado-Partner-to-Share-GIS-Data-in-the-Cloud.html?elq=84b8f2d77e2f4767ba69f5061933df16

URISA Webcasts

Some of the URISA webcasts may be of interest to you, especially the one called "Tools for Developeing Good Addresses" being held on January 18, 2012.

http://www.urisa.org/urisaconnect

Stats Canada to Make Data Products Free and Open

Some of you may find this news interesting:

http://blog.gisuser.com/2011/11/26/stats-canada-to-make-data-products-free-and-open/

Student project possibilities...

There is an opportunity for municipalities in the region to utilize SAIT students (or other students) for small projects. I was approached by a group of students from SAIT that will be starting their final project in the new year and they are looking for the opportunity to work on a real-world project. If your municipality, or anyone else you may know of, is interested, let me know and I can give you more details and help put you in touch with some of these students.

Best Practices for Geospatial Data Sharing Released

Interesting blog posting regarding data sharing best practices:

http://blog.safe.com/2011/11/best-practices-for-geospatial-data-sharing-released-by-nsgic/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ItsAllAboutData+%28It%27s+All+About+Data%29

Transparency Demands Cost Governments (US) Money

An interesting article about the use of technology in providing more information to the public:

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Transparency-Demands-Cost-Governments-Money.html?elq=e7829f6ada22450d832340477efb0c5e

Open Data Workshop - Okotoks - Nov 24

MISA Prairies is hosting a FREE Open Data workshop on November 24, in Okotoks, Alberta.

The purpose of the day- long event is to provide participants with the tools they need to understand and implement open data for their organizations. Workshop sessions will be very flexible with the first 10-15 minutes of each session spent on sharing specific municipal experiences on a topic, and then opening up the floor to questions and further discussion. Each session will be facilitated by municipalities that have already embarked on their open data journey, to enable others to learn from their experiences and then ask questions specific to their organization. The morning sessions will focus on creating the business case for open data, with a high level overview on steps to implement. The afternoon will focus on the process of creating open data, and ensure issues around security, legalities and risk are identified and discussed as well. Time will also be included during the day for people to connect with one another and create contacts with whom they can work with in the future. The organizing committee has had really strong support from our Prairies community for this event. We are excited about bringing people together to assist them on their journey towards open data, and in usual MISA Prairies style, it will be a lot of fun too

http://opendataprairies.blogspot.com/p/misa-prairies-open-data-workshop.html

REGISTER TODAY

The National Information Exchange Model: An XML-based Framework for Data Sharing

Hello Everyone,

This initiative is worth watching, as it may prove helpful for the CRP in refining our data sharing framework over time:

http://blog.safe.com/2011/10/the-national-information-exchange-model-an-xml-based-framework-for-data-sharing/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ItsAllAboutData+%28It%27s+All+About+Data%29

Rural Residential Expansion Research

Hi everyone;

At our last Staff Committee meeting, I mentioned that we are updating the data set and revisiting our analysis of rural residential (exurban) expansion in southwestern Alberta. There was some expression of interest among the group so I thought I would provide a little more information.

In the first iteration (2002), we assembled a dataset (which you can download here) that enumerates the number of residential structures per quarter section, by decade, for six MD's in southwestern Alberta (Rockyview, Foothills, Ranchland, Willow Creek, Pincher Creek, and Cardston). We also published a report describing the process of compiling and harmonizing the data from tax assessment rolls, mapping the distribution of exurban development, and describing a first crack at modeling this development against landscape metrics - You can download the report here, or just the maps here.

Then in 2005, we revisited the spatial analysis of rural residential expansion. The previous model created a probability surface; the second time around, we attempted to predict the magnitude of expected development based on landscape and amenity-based variables. We found that exurban development is likely to be more extensive in areas that are close to the city of Calgary or to golf courses, and in areas with scenic mountain vistas. A summary of this research is downloadable here.

We are in the process of updating this data set to cover the last decade, and expanding it to include six new MD's (Crowsnest Pass, Bighorn, Mountain View, Red Deer, Ponoka, and Lacombe). One of the challenges (and biggest expenses) is in harmonizing data across municipalities - there is no standard for the creation and maintenance of assessment rolls across MD's, and some important fields for our work (like the one that contains legal land description information) are incomplete. Perhaps the CRP could consider development of regional guidelines for the collection of this data, like ongoing efforts regarding as-builts, metadata, land use zoning, etc.

One last note: Tuesday's meeting was my last, and marked the end of Miistakis' direct involvement in the CRP RGIS initiative. It has been a great pleasure to meet you all, to share your knowledge and enthusiasm, and to contribute to your success. I wish you all the best of luck as RGIS moves on to the next level, and hope you'll keep us in the loop.

Thanks,
greg

Sharing cadastral and utility geospatial data in British Columbia

A great example of data sharing in BC. Be sure to check out the data sharing agreement link listed at the bottom of the page:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/typepad/zeissg/geospatial

Free software tool VDatum

Some of you might find this tool useful in your work:

http://vdatum.noaa.gov/

Open standard for geotagging SMS text messages

Not sure if any of you use this technology or not:

http://geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2011/08/open-standard-for-geotagging-sms-text-messages.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fzeissg%2Fgeospatial+%28Between+the+Poles%29

ArcGIS 10.x Metadata Editor

As many are aware, ESRI has broken most of Metadata Editors that worked in previous versions of ArcGIS, including Three Tab Metadata Editor which many in the CRP use.

While Three Tab itself has not been converted to work with ArcGIS, it was used as a foundation for the US Environmental Protection Agency's version called EME which now does work in ArcGIS 10. While tailored for the EPA, it may be of use to folks moving to ArcGIS 10.

You can find EME here: https://edg.epa.gov/EME/

Ken

OSGeo-Live - Open Source Package

Some of you may want to try this out:

http://live.osgeo.org/en/index.html

Open Source Software Question

Are any of your organizations using any Open Source software in any way?

If so please you let me know. I'd be very interested in speaking with anyone using Open Source applications in a government environment.

OpenTreeMap - Open Source software for collaborative, geography-enabled urban tree inventory

Some of you might find this interesting:

http://www.azavea.com/products/opentreemap/

British Columbia Opens Province-wide Open Data Portal

http://www.vector1media.com/spatialsustain/british-columbia-opens-province-wide-open-data-portal.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+SpatialSustain+(Spatial+Sustain)

Canada to Close Nearly All Government Data Centers

Read what our government is up to:

http://www.govtech.com/budget-finance/Canada-to-Close-Nearly-All-Government-Data-Centers.html?elq=f4a5d4399ac94cfd88895897e7a7b86a

BC Opens Government Data Portal

Hello Everyone,

Hope you're all enjoying summer.

Check out this latest news from BC about access to data:

http://blog.gisuser.com/2011/07/20/b-c-canada-opens-government-data-portal-to-all-data_bc/

Alberta Terrestrial Imaging Centre

A new initiative based in Lethbridge and funded by the Rural Alberta Development Fund:

http://www.radf.ca/projects/building_land_management_tools/

Looks like it could be a good option if any of you (or the CRP as a whole) are considering monitoring land use/cover change over the long term.

Happy Canada Day! Have a great weekend,
greg

INSPIRE Directive in Europe

The Europeans seem to be focusing on data issues

http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/

Washington DC Data Catalogue

Check out the data calalogue for Washington DC. Impressive!

http://data.dc.gov/

Free & Open Source Software Conference Schedule

Take a look at the many exciting topics in this years conference:

http://2011.foss4g.org/program/session-schedule

Hundreds of Free Geospatial PDF Books from the National Academies Press

This might be of interest to some of you:

http://slashgeo.org/2011/06/07/Hundreds-Free-Geospatial-PDF-Books-National-Academies-Press

Location Standards – How Do They Help Government?

Hello Everyone,

This webinar is worth watching:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/en_US/island/webinar/registrationPost.tmpl?Action=rgoto&_sf=4

Toronto and Open Data

Here's some recent news about Open Data in Toronto:

http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/open_data/open_data_home?vgnextoid=b3886aa8cc819210VgnVCM10000067d60f89RCRD

LiDAR for sale.

FYI, AltaLIS has just introduced a new product - 30cm LiDAR elevation data. Cost is $100/township, and it looks like most of the CRP region is covered.

I know many of you are receiving elevation data through your orthophoto contracts, but this may be a viable option for others.

Capital Regional District Recognized for Information Sharing

A blog post back in January of this year mentioned a little about this initiative on Vancouver Island. Now there are more details including a way of viewing and downloading data:

http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/dailynews/2011/apr/13/news5.html

MIMS is done (?)

Hi everyone;

I just went to the MIMS web site (for something unrelated to CRP RGIS), and got the "white screen of doom". It looks like MIMS is no longer supported, and anyone who was using it is now on their own.

How does this effect CRP (or other) municipalities? Does this force changes to your TCA reporting protocol? I know many of you were not using MIMS, but others were waiting to see what the business model/costs look like - what are you going to do now?

Maybe this is old news to those of you who work with this every day - but I thought I'd throw it out there regardless, and see if it generates any discussion.

best,
greg

GIS Course for non-Technical People

Hi everyone;

I posted this to my favourite GIS-related listserve. I thought I would re-circulate it here, to see if any of you have any ideas. I will be sure to post a summary of what I discover here.

Here is the posting:

We at the Miistakis Institute are considering development of a short course in GIS/RS/Mapping aimed at non-technical users of these technologies. Before we dedicate too much effort to this however, we want to make sure we are not re-inventing the wheel, stepping on toes, or creating a redundancy.

I am therefore canvassing the group with the following question:

Do you know of any existing offerings of a non-technical GIS Course?
That is, a course that aims not to teach people how to technically use GIS, but rather to teach the practical applications of GIS: What GIS/RS can (and can't) do, what the technical and data challenges/limitations are, where/how GIS can contribute to the decision-making process, how to communicate effectively with GIS technical people, and so on.

I'd appreciate any ideas/suggestions/comments you can offer.

Thanks!
greg

OpenData Progress

The City of Medicine Hat follow in the footsteps of Nanaimo, Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, and Edmonton in launching its OpenData catalogue. http://data.medicinehat.ca/

A Public Welcome!

Hello, and Welcome to the Regional GIS Blog!

This blog is maintained as part of the Calgary Regional Partnership's Regional GIS Initiative. The majority of contributors to this blog are Technical GIS Professionals at member Municipalities of the CRP, and the majority of the posts relate to the kinds of issues these people face in their daily work, and in building effective collaborations across jurisdictional boundaries.

The CRP RGIS Blog has been active for a few years now, but until today it was closed to public viewing. On reflection, we realized that this approach was more than a little incongruous. This blog is about improving communication and collaboration, and many posts celebrate the burgeoning open data movement - so why would we restrict access to the blog only to contributors, when there almost certainly is value in sharing this information more broadly?

Take a look around - browse past posts, and leave a comment if you see something interesting and would like to contribute to the discussion.

Thanks!
greg, on behalf of the CRP RGIS Technical Committee.

Tools to Help GeoTagging Your Digital Photos and Videos

Some of you might find one or many of these tools useful: http://blog.gisuser.com/2011/04/tools-to-help-geotag-your-digital-photos-and-videos/#

North Carolina Aerial Photography in 100 Counties

This is a recent example of a large group of municipalities in the US collaborating: http://www.govtech.com/geospatial/Aerial-Photography-911-Service-100-Counties.html?elq=1b41a6381db3416a98a396a785e66d3e

LIDAR and Coordinate Systems

Some of you wanting to learn more about LIDAR might find this blog posting interesting: http://blog.safe.com/2011/03/lidar-and-coordinate-systems-journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ItsAllAboutData+%28It%27s+All+About+Data%29

Open Data Portal Launched in Oregon

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Open-Data-Portal-Launched-in-Oregon.html?elq=fd0427c4c42147959842a7ad0dde4db6

Open Government News for Canada!!

Finally some news from the Federal Government. Read on:

http://www.open.gc.ca/index-eng.asp

A New Approach To Metadata With ArcGIS 10

Some of you moving to ArcGIS 10 or those already there might be interested in this metadata update:

http://geo.geek.nz/esri/a-new-approach-to-metadata-with-arcgis-10/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mandown+%28geo.geek.nz%29

City of Grand Forks, ND Open Data Warehouse

Another example of an open data portal:

http://blog.gisuser.com/2011/03/city-of-grand-forks-gis-web-map-and-open-data-warehouse/#

Learn the Basics of gvSIG Open Source Desktop GIS!

Most of you will likely not be able to attend this event, but for those seeking more info on Open Source GIS there are some additional links to learn more:

Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 11:33 PM
Subject: Tuesday March 29th, 2011 - Learn the Basics of gvSIG Open Source Desktop GIS!

Are you ready to add to the GIS capabilities of your organization without additional licensing costs? Do you need a powerful alternative to expensive software licenses that works with your existing solutions but without any strings attached? Are you in need of more GIS desktop software seats but can't afford to buy more licenses?Then it might be time to seriously consider open source desktop alternatives to strengthen your organizations capabilities.Learn the basics of gvSIG a powerful 'mid range' open source desktop GIS at the King County GIS Center!
Terra GIS will be offering a 1 day introductory gvSIG class on Tuesday March 29th, 2011. The emphasis of the class will be on general GIS functionalities and geoprocessing.
For more information visit: http://www.terragis.net/gis-classes/gvsig-introduction/

gvSIG is a powerful desktop GIS system that is known for having a user-friendly interface, being able to access the most common formats, both vector and raster ones (e.g. shape files, ArcSde, Oracle databases ...) . It features a wide range of tools for working with geographic information (query tools, layout creation, geoprocessing, networks, model builder, etc.) and provides excellent cartography and spatial analysis tools, and a wide range of spatial database connectivity.

To learn more about gvSIG and to see examples how others are using gvSIG around the world see the links below[1] Case studies: http://casestudies.gvsig.org/[2] Presentations, posters and articles presented during the 6th gvSIG Conference 2010 gvSIG http://jornadas.gvsig.org/home/view?set_language=en[3] gvSIG at the OSGIS UK 2010 Workshops http://www.opensourcegis.org.uk/

Karsten VennemannPrincipalTerra GIS LTD2119 Boyer Ave E Seattle, WA 98112USA www.terragis.net
Phone 206 905 1711Fax 925 905 1711

OpenDEM Portal

Those of you starting to work with or already using DEM data might find this site interesting:

http://www.opendem.info/

Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System

Hello Everyone,

Here's another example of a group of organizations working together to share information:

http://cagis.hamilton-co.org/CAGIS/DataDictionary/Cagorganization.html

More info:
http://cagis.hamilton-co.org/

BRBC Resources

Hi everyone;

At our last meeting I promised to provide a link to the Bow River Basin Council's Web-based State of the Watershed tool. Here is the link:
http://wsow.brbc.ab.ca/
Some of the data updates in real-time, other data sets less frequently.

You can also read a more "traditional" State of the Watershed report and summary booklet, here.

Thanks,
greg

GeoDiscover Alberta is Up and Running!

*EDITORIAL NOTE 1st April 2011* - After reviewing the GeoDiscover Alberta Portal and its offerings, the author humbly retracts his initial enthusiasm for this project. Ther are a couple of notable flaws with the Portal in its current configuration:

1. The interface is cumbersome, and seems to break or hang up frequently. I once let the map try to reload for over 30 minutes before giving up.

2. Though one can view and read about data (view metadata files), one cannot actually access data through this Portal - any record for which I have sought out "how to obtain data" has just redirected me to AltaLIS, which I assume would mean fee-for-data.

Just thought I'd offer some sober second thoughts. Although the idea is good and it's encouraging that the GoA is interested in joining the open data revolution, it looks like there's still a long row to hoe...

gwc

Original Post follows:

Mark your calendars, friends. The winds of change have blown into our frigid province; the era of open data is now upon us.

Please see the announcement below from Morris Seiferling of the Alberta Land Use Framework, regarding the launch of the GeoDiscover Alberta portal for general public use.

I urge you to take a look, and maybe even more importantly to take a minute or two to fill out the survey and offer the LUF some constructive feedback.

If you all received this via email like I just did, sorry for the cross-post!

See you Wednesday,
greg

+++++++++++++++++++++++

All sectors need the best possible geospatial information and services, and I am pleased to announce that you can now access more than 140 layers of free land-related data and services through the GeoDiscover Alberta portal.

This portal provides a single window to search and find the credible, up-to-date information needed to better manage activities on the landscape and is the most comprehensive program of its kind in Alberta. The data and map services come from various Alberta government ministries and agencies and include:

· Administrative Boundaries (provincial boundary, electoral divisions, Land-use Framework Regions)

· Alberta Township System (ATS)

· Access (major highways, secondary highways/roads, cutlines)

· Cadastral (urban and rural)

· Mineral Agreements (petroleum and natural gas, oil sands, metallic and industrial minerals, coal)

· Utilities (pipelines, power lines and access facilities)

· Land-Use Management

· First Nations land

· Parks and protected areas

· Land-use Framework regional planning maps and data

Sharing geospatial information will enhance land and resource stewardship and improve service delivery to Albertans. For example, Land-use Framework planners can access information through GeoDiscover Alberta to shape regional plans. Sharing data also brings time and cost savings—users don’t have to look in multiple places for information.

Please visit the GeoDiscover Alberta portal www.geodiscoveralberta.ca to explore the data and services, training materials and frequently asked questions. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the portal, please take the time to complete the feedback survey so we can make the portal even better to suit your needs.

This is just the beginning, and GeoDiscover Alberta will evolve with time. Current partners include the departments of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Resource Development as well as the Land Use Secretariat and Energy Resources Conservation Board. As more ministries and agencies join GeoDiscover Alberta, there will be more information and tools available for all sectors.

Morris Seiferling
Stewardship Commissioner/Chair, GeoDiscover Alberta Program
Land Use Secretariat
9th Floor, Centre West Building
10035-108 Street
Edmonton, AB T5J 3E1

Phone: (780) 644-7978
Fax: (780) 644-1034

URISA Addressing Standards

The latest version of addressing standards for the US are listed on this page and could initiate discussion amoungst CRP members:

http://www.urisa.org/about/initiatives/addressstandard

Baltimore Builds Social Media Into Open Data Platform

As seen here, some municipalities are combining other things along with their Open Data policies:

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/OpenBaltimore-Social-Media-Data.html

State DOTs Collaborate and Save on Software Development

This concept is perhaps something the CRP could consider:

http://www.govtech.com/technology/State-DOTs-Collaborate-Software-Development.html

Capital Regional District Geodocument Management System

The Capital Regional District on Vancouver Island is using an interesting system for sharing information across their region. You can read about it in the following article:

https://www.esricanada.com/documents/Web-Based_Geodocument_Management1.pdf

Open Source Trip Planning Tool

Happy New Year Everyone!

This Open Source trip planner shown by the City of Portland might be something some of you could use utilizing your data.

http://mapperz.blogspot.com/2010/12/opentripplanner-portland.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mapperz+%28Mapperz+GIS+News+Blog%29