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Producing maps with which the user can interact

A ‘real’ Web GIS, likely to require the greatest infrastructure, the most

powerful hardware and software, and the most expensive licensing

costs for copyrighted data.

Ways to use GIS (2)

2

See www.nationalatlas.gov/See www.nationalatlas.gov/

3

See www.nationalatlas.gov/See www.nationalatlas.gov/

4

See www.nationalatlas.gov/See www.nationalatlas.gov/

5

See www.nationalatlas.gov/See www.nationalatlas.gov/

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Issues to consider: Software

• Do you already have access?• If you’re a Local Authority, try your Planning

Department– But have a good idea what you want to do

• If you’re in Higher Education, try the Geography Department or your Computing Service

– Some GIS software is covered by a ‘CHEST deal’

• Do you have access to the skills?• Maybe visit GIS 2001, or a similar

event?• 18–20 September, Earl’s Court.

See www.iebusiness-forums.com/gis/See www.iebusiness-forums.com/gis/

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• Look for standards compliance• NOF Technical Guidelines

–www.peoplesnetwork.gov.uk/nof/technicalstandards.html

• Open GIS Consortium–www.opengis.org/techno/specs.htm.

Issues to consider: Software

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• Do you have the data already?• And if so, does your license allow you to use

it as you want to in this project?

• If you don’t have the data, how are you going to get it?• Buy from Ordnance Survey, Bartholomew,

Cities Revealed, etc?– But remember to negotiate a license that lets you

do what you want to

• Digitise from paper originals?– But remember to clear the rights for material that is

still in copyright.

Issues to consider: Data

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• Are you combining data sources?• Scale

– Add the roads from a 1:250,000 UK road atlas to buildings from a 1:1,250 urban map, and the results will be very poor

• Data granularity– If you’ve gathered data on postal area (YO, G, etc.), there’s no

point plotting it on a map of postal districts (YO4, G67, etc.)

• Spurious accuracy– “x lies within 100m of y”– But x and y are drawn from data sources that are only precise

to within 50m– So x and y might be adjacent, or they might be 200m apart.

Issues to consider: Data

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Remember…

Just because you have access to “a GIS” or a map of your area…• not all software or data can do

everything you want to it do• and even if it can, your license might

not let you.

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Sources of guidance…

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See http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/goodguides/gis/See http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/goodguides/gis/

13

See www.ordsvy.gov.uk/gis-files/See www.ordsvy.gov.uk/gis-files/

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Some pointers…

• ADS GIS Guide to Good Practice• ads.ahds.ac.uk/project/goodguides/gis/

• Association for Geographic Information (AGI)• www.agi.org.uk/

• National Geospatial Data Framework (NGDF)• www.ngdf.org.uk/

• Open GIS Consortium (OGC)• www.opengis.org/

• Ordnance Survey (OS)• www.ordsvy.gov.uk/

• Web–Mapper• www.web-mapper.com/