[OSGeo-Discuss] open <geospatial> data access

[Paulo Marcondes]

2007/4/18, P Kishor <punk.kish at gmail.com>:
> Dear all,

> I particularly welcome ideas from OSGeo/list members who are from
> Latin America. So, thinking solely of advancing the cause of open
> access to digital geospatial information --

First of all,

there is no such thing as a latin american culture.
There are big differences among all countries in the region, with
different mindsets and legal systems. Take the Mercosur for instance.
Despite being discussed since long ago, very little has been achieved.
The FLOSS cause is spreading in the region, but the data access thing
is only starting to surface.

One thing I see with great discomfort is the way some brazilians like
to do things. Being brazilian myself, and living in Brazil, I feel
free to comment on such things. Some of my countrymen like to do this
sort of stuff through government agencies, or via political parties.

IMHO, this has been counterproductive to the goal of spreading FLOSS.
In some states where the approach has been more technical than
ideological, things are moving fast and it seems to be no turning
back. One thing I notice about the government workers is that they
really value technical expertise, and the technical merits of a
solution. Not so with appointed officers - they usualy like what gives
them good press, or any press at all.

So, if I can say anything, focus on technical aspects and advantages
of open [geo]data policies are paramount to get thing moving. I
already see some initiatives from inside gov. agencies, maybe they
need a bit more of impulse =]

Trying to answer you questions:

> What would such an activity be?

I think the best way to accomplish any task this big is by doing it in
small pieces.
Maybe we could get some interest moving in the universities, maybe
each country could host its own geodata, or geodata data was generatd
for it's use.
This is one of the most important points: where to store/where to
search for this information?

> Who could be involved in it?

National Mapping Agencies are obvious candidates, but as we saw
recently with the UK Ordnance, changes may not happen for the best :(

Utility companies may have vary accurate data on their area, so we
should look for them and have they release data that may serve us,
like topographic maps and aerial photos.

Producers of imagery, either satellite or photogrametric, may be
willing to release some older stuff they might have.

Also, should be wise to win some backing from funding agencies, like
FAPESP, they have enough funds to run the infra-structure (network
bandwitdth, storage space and the like)

> What would be the main steps to initiating and running it?

First challenge would be to get people interested, let them do the
evangelizing inside their agencies.
2. get the agencies to release their data
3. create a single repository - so there would be one shop to rule them all =]
4. This is the main challenge: keep the structure running

> How long could this take?

forever =]

Now, serioulsy it would be best done if the project could mature
during one president's mandate. Knowing how tides change here. The
project stand a better chance if started and matured within the 4
years of presidency. I say this because it may not be the NMA that
will run the repo, we may have to resource to them to release some
data.

> What would be the recognizable milestones?

I would put milestones per state (estado or departamento),
1. all catalog imagery online
2. all basic cartography online on scales 1:250000 (or more detailed)
3. all major cities with census data
4. all map data in SHP (it seems to me to be the least common
denominator) , with all meta-data provided (e.g.: geoid, datum, date,
agency responsible...)
5. relevant OCG web services openly available.
6. data available for downloading, geotorrent, etc.
7. gov. information available: gov. buildings, police and fire
stations, political boundaries

just 2 cents of Real... not really very much =]

I think i covered the most obvious points
-- 
Paulo Marcondes = PU1/PU2PIX
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