Geospatial ‘goldmine’ ready for public use

Wellington City Council has released a significant amount of useful geospatial information to the public, either free of charge or at very low cost.

And Mayor Celia Wade-Brown, the Council’s Information and Communication Technology Portfolio Leader, says Wellingtonians should “feel free to make use of this goldmine of information.”

The data includes aerial photographs of the city, contour lines, building footprints, and locations of Council facilities (eg swimming pools, libraries, public toilets, walking tracks, parks and reserves).

Some hazard information (eg wind zones for building consent structural requirements, tsunami evacuation zones, and potential flood hazard areas) is also available.

Geospatial information is digital location-based data which can be used in specialised software, so whether you’re an architect seeking to produce a realistic model or image of a building in its surrounding landscape, a university student working on a project, an engineer doing a feasibility study, an orienteering club looking for new challenges – or even if you’ve got a great idea for a new iPhone ‘app’ – then this geospatial data could be of great use to you.

The data can be downloaded at the links detailed below. Non-technical users can view the information using the Council’s WebMap.

Prior to the recent release of this geospatial information, customers were charged for the data on a cost-recovery basis and were obliged to contact the Council to request it.

However Mayor Wade-Brown says the Council recognises the economic and social benefits of making this information available on the internet.

“Whether it’s a Government organisation, community group, businesses or individuals using it – this information aids decision-making and it will allow many projects or initiatives to be completed more quickly, cheaply and effectively.”

There is also scope for technological innovation - because the geospatial data is made available under a creative commons license, businesses/ IT developers are now free to build web-based or smartphone applications using it. For example a private company would be free to develop a tourist guide iPhone app for Wellington visitors.

Mayor Wade-Brown says a recent study revealed that innovative use of geospatial information added over $1 billion to the NZ economy in 2008.

“The Government is encouraging the public sector to make geospatial information more accessible, and Wellington City Council is among the first local authorities to begin releasing this data in such an unrestricted way.

“This initiative fits perfectly with my aim for Wellington to become an international technological centre of excellence – and it’s one more reason why ultra-fast broadband access is essential to Wellington's knowledge economy.”

The Council is selective about what information has been released. Incomplete datasets or information subject to licensing restrictions is not included.

To access the information, go to the GIS data page on the Council website: http://www.wellington.govt.nz/maps/gis/gis-data.html or to the geodata website Koordinates: http://koordinates.com/maps/wcc/

If you want to check Council maps but don’t need to download geospatial information then visit WebMap http://www.wellington.govt.nz/maps/index.html

The new data has been made available with the help of local company Koordinates Ltd – which hosts geospatial information on behalf of the likes of Land Information New Zealand and the Ministry for the Environment. Koordinates provides hosting to the City Council for free - and most data is free for the customer - however there is a small fee for aerial photography to help cover storage costs.
http://koordinates.com/maps/wcc/

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