Comments on: In print: Canada’s maps go free – but here’s more background: it’s not so simple

By: Mark Beveridge » Links 2007-04-22

Mark Beveridge » Links 2007-04-22 — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 21:20:23 +0000

[...] Canada makes map data free …”Rationale for charging has gone, says government”. But further investigation shows it’s only the higher level (federal) data that is. [...]

By: Richard Gosnell

Richard Gosnell — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:13:58 +0000

Another region that is putting free map graphic images online for free is Catalunya in NE Spain. AT the moment only maps at scale 1:25,000 can be downloaded, and only patchy coverage which might depend on a program of gradual regigging of the map data into digital form.

The maps are in the “sid” format, and each map sheet is accompanied by a “sdw” file. Together they allow, using programs such as Lizardtech or Oziexplorer, the PC cursor to indicate accurate lat/lon or grid reference, and can be used with GPS receivers for satnav type operation while mobile.

Catalunya also has larger and smaller scale topographic maps of the region, and Geological maps, but none of these can be downloaded complete, but can be zoomed in for closer inspection, and you could do a screen grab of the detailed area wanted.

The url is:-

http://www.icc.cat/portal/index_c.jsp?lang=en_UK&profile=pro

Richard Gosnell

By: serendipityoucity :: Free our Data The blog - Quoted :: April :: 2007

serendipityoucity :: Free our Data The blog - Quoted :: April :: 2007 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:47:26 +0000

[...] I am a big fan of the Free Our Data: the Blog by the Guardian in the UK. The Blog has been reporting Canadian initiatives 1 2 3 and I responded in an email to the Absolutely anyone can play and profit: Canada makes mapping data free for any use and well it got posted onto the Blog in the following article In print: Canada’s maps go free – but here’s more background: it’s not so simple.I talked to Michael from Civicaccess.ca some weeks ago that one of the things i would like to do in 2007 is some journalistic writing on the topic of access to data in Canada. At the moment there is no journalism or editorials at all on that topic in this country. After reading the Free Our Data: The Blog since it started, being all happy to see all that CANCon there, teaching a cartography course on the topic and well talking about this stuff for years, i think i am ready to move into that direction and this would be way better if done with other folks! There are some fantastic people in this country working on that topic, some NGOs who really need data, some hacktivists who want to play with data and make tools, young startup companies whose progress is impeded or big companies who want a data monopoly on some public datasets, government monopolies on the production and communities who just wanna study their neighbourhoods or propose new stuff but currently cannot as the data is just too darned expensive or accompanied with too restrictive a use. I think it would be awesome to have intelligent interviews with these people and to feature some of the great initiatives and problems in this country at all scales and to speak to people on tons of topics like Creative Commons licensing, the copyright of databases, issues related to page scraping, mashup data sharing, community dbases/portals, postal code and MP finding, and to have debates from all sides on data as a public good. The CivicAccess List is so rich with both tool builders, data geeks and policy wonks and it would be great for some of that content at some point to be in the public sphere.Lets see what happens! Comments » [...]

By: Chris Fleming

Chris Fleming — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:19:27 +0000

“in remote areas where there is no satellite overage”

As far as I know GPS satellites cover the whole world. In fact they tend to work better in rural area’s where there is less to get in the way :)