Spatial Data Infrastructure: (aka) Dark Knight
Dec 15, 2009 @ 4:03 PM by Britta Ricker -- web2.0Spatial data infrastructure (SDI) or any sort of data and information infrastructure lurks in the background. Users rarely think about how the information they are viewing is organized behind the scenes until it is time to use it for their own purposes.
I recently went to a stimulating talk given by Prestige Makanga from the University of South Africa entitled “SDI and sustainable settlements in developing nations.” He really did an excellent job of explaining the role and importance of a well-planned SDI. He explained how different SDIs are necessary for different levels of government, different scales, and different projects.
His talk reminded me of how important data infrastructure really is. In this Web 2.0 world we are living in, we want our ideas not to stop at one website but to be passed on, embedded in Facebook, in blogs, in Google Maps mashups. Effective data infrastructure can help make that happen. SDIs typically go unnoticed, they lurk in the background, but when executed well they can throw quite a punch. For example look at data.gov, Vancouver open data and GeoCommons Finder. The information provided is organized so well that you can find traces of their information all over the web used in innovative yet unexpected ways. This is how the dark knight packs his punch too, thoughtfully well planned and unexpected!
Prestige was a visiting scholar at Simon Fraser University. I was fortunate enough to talk with him at length about the use of volunteered geographic information and the use of Web 2.0 in Africa. Prestige attentively recommended that a process of continuous learning and iterative communication with communities and community officials is needed for robust and effective data to be incorporated into the SDI.
SDI is only one tool on the dark knight’s geographic services utility belt!!!! Beware one-way data disseminators.
Kumiko Yamazaki: kyamazaki@mapkist.com