Google Map Maker for 'quick' updates to Google Maps

First off, let me say that I don't like Google Maps.  The data is not accurate most of the time, however some of our Councillors love it and question why things like parking lots and changes to trails are not shown on Google Maps.

It's been mentioned before that we are at the mercy of Google to update our data when they see fit - however it appears there is a workaround to get your data updated quickly if you want to use Google Map Maker for your town.

http://www.google.ca/mapmaker

I added some new points to Google Map Maker representing our public parking lots, as well as a simple centre line for our new Pedestrian Bridge across the Bow River. The additions were visible in Google maps the next day!!??
The only remaining issue is the routing capabilities don't seem to take the new bridge into account, but that's fairly minor I think - and I assume it will be included the next time Google updates its Routing dataset.

Anyhow, just wanted to pass along that Google Map Maker seems to be the ticket if you want to add/update data shown on Google Maps for your town/city.
Steve

Economic value of open data estimated at $3 trillion annually

Some comments related to Canada in this posting...

http://geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2013/11/economic-value-of-open-data.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fzeissg%2Fgeospatial+%28Between+the+Poles%29&utm_content=FeedBurner

What is the Google Maps Engine Public Data Program?

Some of you might find this interesting...

http://www.directionsmag.com/channels/government/blogs/what-is-the-google-maps-engine-public-data-program/362457

Open Data and the Federal Government

Here's the Canadian Government website for Open Data:

http://data.gc.ca/eng

New York City and OpenStreetMap Collaborating Through Open Data

New York City has opened up 200 high value data sets to the public, making it possible to use this data to improve OpenStreetMap.

https://www.mapbox.com/blog/nyc-and-openstreetmap-cooperating-through-open-data/

URISA GIS Leadership Academy in Calgary, May 5-9, 2014

URISA is pleased to announce the URISA Leadership Academy in
Calgary, Alberta, May 5-9, 2014

The URISA Leadership Academy is a five day training program, tailored to professionals faced with the unique challenges of GIS leadership and management.

“I would highly recommend the ULA. It helped to broaden my organizational awareness and perspective regarding leadership roles within a GIS context. I walked away from this experience feeling invigorated and, thanks to a daily learning journal, empowered to implement tailor-made action items within my daily work routine.  I still find myself referencing the material and my course notes. The ULA team-based exercises allowed participants to learn from each other, to analyze their own issues and challenges, and to thoroughly explore leadership strategies throughout the five day event.” - Laura Holmes B.Sc., GISP, GIS Lead - Associate, TERA Environmental Consultants, Calgary, Alberta (ULA 2012 Graduate - Savannah, Georgia)

Participants will learn:

• ·         GIS leadership and management techniques
• ·         Strategic planning
• ·         Successful team development
• ·         Organizational capacity building and sustainability strategies (ROI, innovative funding ideas)
• ·         Program investment and justification
• ·         Change management
• ·         Situation assessment and organizational performance evaluation
• ·         Ethics and professional challenges
• ·         Problem solving

Courses are taught by proven leaders in the profession (all are GISPs and accomplished in the field). Each course includes interactive exercises, team-building tools, and opportunities to delve into topics in a way that is difficult to accomplish during a large conference. (Note that course attendance is limited in size to encourage such interaction...so interested individuals are encouraged to register early to reserve a spot.)

"For me, the URISA Leadership Academy (ULA) really brought to the forefront the need for, and the importance of, a champion for geospatial technologies in almost any organization. The experienced instructors really demonstrated how to be that champion, with the steps for success, and the pitfalls along the way. From the excellent team-building exercises, to the “elevator” speeches, the ULA showed that the only place in line for geospatial professionals is the front." - Jamie Leitch, GISP, City  of Welland, Ontario (ULA 2012 Graduate – Savannah, Georgia)

The ULA has been presented regularly to rave reviews since 2007 and this will be the first time the program will be held in Canada. The event will take place at the Delta Bow Valley hotel in downtown Calgary and ULA attendees may take advantage of an attractive $189 CDN hotel room rate for the event.

Visit the URISA website regularly for additional information.

Note that significant early registration (register by December 31 and save $500!) and team discounts are available.  

Please contact URISA if you have any questions. Register early to reserve your spot. The ULA limits attendance to capitalize on small group discussions and interactions.  Don’t miss the opportunity.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What is the spatial reference for Alberta 10TM?

Utility companies provide their data in CAD format in 10TM because it covers the whole province of Alberta. Does anyone know what the spatial reference is for 10TM so we can convert this data in either 3TM or UTM?

Who pays for public access to open data ?

You might find some of this info interesting...

Who pays for public access to open data?

Canadian Open Data Institute - Survey

You might like to take this survey:

http://opendatainstitute.ca/#!

Open Data Policy Guidelines

Although targeted at the US, some of you may find some helpful info here...

http://datasmart.ash.harvard.edu/news/article/open-data-policy-guidelines-updated-for-a-changing-technology-landscape-298

Webinar: Migrating to 10.1

Here is a link to a recorded webinar from ESRI Canada on migrating to 10.1:
http://www.esri.ca/en/resources/collateral-resources?keys=&field_type_tid[0]=6&&&&field_cr_publication_date_value[value]&sort_by=field_cr_publication_date_value&sort_order=DESC&page=1

Webinar: How to Share Geospatial Data

http://geoconnections.nrcan.gc.ca/home

Webinar: How to Share Geospatial Data

GeoConnections invites you to learn more about the principles and policies that contribute to successful online access, use and sharing of geospatial information. The English webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 24, 2013 – 1:30-3:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time). The French webinar will be held on Tuesday, October 1, 2013 – 1:30-3:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time). Contact us for more information:info@geoconnections.NRCan.gc.ca.

URISA Exemplary Systems in Government Award for Enterprise System goes to the City of Calgary

http://www.urisa.org/news/2013/08/01/press-release/2013-urisa-esig-awards-announced/

Published Thursday, August 1, 2013 5:00 pm

by Wendy Nelson

URISA is pleased to announce the recipients of 2013 URISA Exemplary Systems in Government (ESIG) Awards. Since 1980, URISA’s ESIG Awards have recognized exceptional achievements in the application of information technology that have improved the delivery and quality of government services. URISA congratulates all of the participants in the 2013 Exemplary Systems in Government Award program. The recognized systems will be celebrated during the Awards Breakfast at GIS-Pro 2013: URISA's 51st Annual Conference in Providence, Rhode Island.

ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS CATEGORY - Systems in this category are outstanding and working examples of using information systems technology in a multi-department environment as part of an integrated process. These systems exemplify effective use of technology yielding widespread improvements in the process(es) and/or service(s) involved and/or cost savings to the organization.

Exemplary System: The GEM Project: Bringing Information to the Emergency Operations Centre (City of Calgary)
Liz Findlay, GEM Project Sponsor & Manager and Nancy Merritt, Geospatial Consultant & GEM Project Advisor, Geospatial Business Solutions Division, Corporate Services City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada

System Summary: The Geospatial Emergency Management (GEM) Project is a large and complex undertaking by the City of Calgary to provide a common operating picture for the Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA).  Using a strategic implementation in a phased approach, the GEM project now supports a population of more than 1 million and a city with 14,000+ employees. Many outside-agency data sources are connected in the GEM Project. The design of the project demonstrates success in bringing multiple business units together to achieve a common goal. The system’s implementation and interagency cooperation strategy make for a highly useful case study.   User testimonials note the impact of this project has led to better data and tools for responders along with cost savings and improved efficiencies for CEMA and the City. Considering the scope of this system, the needs it addresses and its very successful implementation, the City of Calgary’s GEM Project is the 2013 Enterprise System ESIG Award winner.

Congratulations to Liz Findlay, Nancy Merritt and the City of Calgary on this recognition. It is well deserved!

ESRI Canada Releases the Canadian Municipal Data Model

For a number of years the US has had a municipal data model but it has been difficult for some to modify that model to fit Canadian GIS business practices.  ESRI Canada has just released the Canadian version of this data model. I personally think this will help standardize municipal GIS business practices but I am not overly optimistic that this model will solve all of our CRP data integration issues. :)

What do you think the Canadian Municipal Data Model will do for municipal GIS in Canada or in the CRP?

I look forward to your comments.

I have a copy of the model. If you would like me to email it to you contact me at corey.halford@airdrie.ca or you can contact ESRI directly.

Southern Alberta Ortho Project

Contents of this post are courtesy of Greg Chernoff of the Miistakis Institute

Just in case you didn't know about this A consortium of MD's in southern Alberta flew orthoimagery in 2012, and have made all the imagery freely available to the public. The link is  here. All you need to do is provide a valid email address, and you will be sent a link to access the data.

Data is in MrSID format, which is readable by most GIS software, or by a free application called GeoViewer.

Imagery was acquired in July 2012, and is 0.5m pixel resolution. They are true-colour (RGB) images, so good for identifying features and general land cover classification, but not likely so good for more detailed analysis.

Kudos to the MD's involved for opening this data up to the public, and to MD Willow Creek for organizing and hosting the data.

MapBox announces near real-time imagery coming soon

The world of imagery is changing...

http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2013/07/mapbox-announces-near-real-time-imagery-coming-soon.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GoogleEarthBlog+%28Google+Earth+Blog%29&utm_content=FeedBurner

CBC Spark 199: Scouts, Apps, Maps

Have a listen to episode 199 of CBC spark.  It provides interesting insight into the future of collaborative digital mapping.  The episode covers the following topics:

Mapping the Canadian Arctic

• Google Canada blog post about Street View Imagery of Canada's Arctic

A History of Maps

• Jerry Brotton
• A History of the World in Twelve Maps
• Full Spark interview with Jerry Brotton

Digital Scout Troops

• Jon Kalish
• Jon talked about the Maker Scouts, Hacker Scouts,  Mothership Hacker Moms, DIY.org,and Adafruit Industries
• Other Spark stories by Jon Kalish DIY Living, Hacking the Library, and Digital Fabrication

In Defense of the Paper Map

• Other Spark stories by Michelle Parise
• You might also like this Spark story about Trap Streets from Edward Birnbaum

The Future of Maps

• Andrew Turner
• Full Spark interview with Andrew Turner

Additional Links

• We spoke to Gabe Boothroyd of the band Five Alarm Funk

ArcGIS Online for your Local Government

Some of you may be interested in this...

http://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2013/07/24/arcgis-online-for-your-local-government/

Update on Canada’s Next Generation Open Data Portal

Nice to see SOME progress in Canada...

http://blog.gisuser.com/2013/06/21/update-on-canadas-next-generation-open-data-portal/

2013 Esri International User Conference Paper Sessions

Access papers and presentation materials from GIS professionals who shared best practices and case studies at the Esri User Conference.

Technical Workshop PPTs too!!

http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/proc13/index.html

Changing Ways Cities Get Their Software

Some of this has been discussed at past CRP meetings...

http://www.govtech.com/applications/Inside-the-Civic-Hacking-Movement.html

Executive order for Open Data in the US Federal Government

This would seem to be a positive development...

http://geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2013/05/executive-order-makes-open-and-machine-readable-data-the-default-for-the-us-federal-government.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fzeissg%2Fgeospatial+%28Between+the+Poles%29&utm_content=FeedBurner

Save the Rain App Calculates Your Saved Water

Interesting use of open data...

http://blog.gisuser.com/2013/05/31/save-the-rain-app-calculates-your-saved-water-with-opendata-apps4ottawa-challenge/

Hawaii Uses Collaborate.org as its Data Sharing Backbone

Another Data Sharing Story...

http://www.govtech.com/geospatial/Hawaii-Uses-Collaborate-org-as-its-Data-Sharing-Backbone.html#continued

Alberta Open Data

Yay Province of Alberta!

http://data.alberta.ca/

When Government Shuts Down Open Government - Canada Post Suing Over the use of the Postal Code

This is very unfortunate...

http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/29776/222/

Providing web access to usable open geospatial data

GeoREST may be something of interest to anyone going down the Open Data path...

http://geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2013/04/providing-web-access-to-usable-open-geospatial-data.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fzeissg%2Fgeospatial+%28Between+the+Poles%29&utm_content=FeedBurner

David Eaves and Open Government

David Eaves is well known as an advocate for open government. Check out his blog for interesting ideas…

http://eaves.ca/

Alberta GeoDiscover = wow.

I'm probably coming across this long after everyone else is well aware of it, but Alberta Gov's GeoDiscover site....pretty amazing.
Uses ESRI's Community Maps as one of the base maps, and seems to combine a data catalogue with data viewer.   Pretty slick and expansive...
Add map services, shapefiles, csvs...
http://maps.srd.alberta.ca/GDA_Viewer/Viewer.ashx?Viewer=GDA
Steve

What is the National Information Sharing Consortium

How many of you have heard of this? Yes it's in the US but perhaps we can learn or benefit.

http://nisconsortium.org/

Open source geospatial LocationTech launched

This group was established in Feb 2013 and seem to have some interesting plans.

http://locationtech.org/

Province of B.C, Canada forges ahead with OpenData initiatives

Although from last month, still relevant...

http://blog.gisuser.com/2013/02/24/province-of-b-c-canada-forges-ahead-with-opendata-initiatives/

OpenData Web Map

Here is a Web map that highlights the open data initiatives by municipalities across the country –

http://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=f7bd0971a65c40f0a33451dbc3d7909d

Early Results: International Open Data Day 2013

Did any of you know such a day existed?

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Early-Results-International-Open-Data-Day-2013.html

Crisis Mapper

This is cool stuff

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/exploration/risk-takers-gallery#/7

PATRICK MEIER was sitting in his Medford, Massachusetts, apartment when the January 2010 earthquake struck Haiti. The 35-year-old Tufts Ph.D. candidate was soon assisting quake victims—without even leaving home. Opening his laptop, he mobilized hundreds of volunteers to scrape data points from tweets, text messages, UN reports, and more to build a constantly updated online map. His efforts guided citizens, aid workers, and the U.S. Coast Guard; experts say the map likely saved hundreds of lives. Meier, a Swiss citizen who grew up in Africa, now maps crises all over the world.

follow the link for more info.

Open Data Success Requires Streamlining and Standardization

Although related to the US, this offers some good food for thought:

http://www.govtech.com/e-government/Open-Data-Success-Requires-Streamlining-and-Standardization.html?elq=2176ba82e24e45838d0b31ff9675f193&elqCampaignId=3256

Rocky View County eRecords & GIS Solutions Team Lead

This job posting came up last week.

http://www.auma.ca/live/AMSC/Job+Postings+%26+4sale/Job+Postings?cid=16218

24 Organizations to Receive a Total of More Than $2 Million in GIS Imagery Grants

I wonder if something like this is available in Canada?

http://www10.giscafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?section=CorpNews&articleid=1154720

Worldwide Free GIS Data Portal

Access to over 300 free data sets from around the world. You might find this useful...

http://www.searchogc.com/

The 12th International Symposium on Web and Wireless GIS

Some of you may be interested in this event...

http://sensorweb.geomatics.ucalgary.ca/w2gis2013/

Free GIS Datasets - Categorised List

A very extensive list (approx 300 data sets) worth having as a resource...

http://freegisdata.rtwilson.com/ 

The ArcGIS Metadata Toolkit

For anyone already on ArcGIS 10.1 or almost there, this might be of interest to you:

http://blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2012/12/20/metadatatoolkit/