Sharing Integrated Spatial and Thematic Data: The CRISOLA Case for Malta and the European Project Plan4all Process

Abstract

Sharing data across diverse thematic disciplines is only the next step in a series of hard-fought efforts to ensure barrier-free data availability. The Plan4all project is one such effort, focusing on the interoperability and harmonisation of spatial planning data as based on the INSPIRE protocols. The aims are to support holistic planning and the development of a European network of public and private actors as well as Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). The Plan4all and INSPIRE standards enable planners to publish and share spatial planning data. The Malta case tackled the wider scenario for sharing of data, through the investigation of the availability, transformation and dissemination of data using geoportals. The study is brought to the fore with an analysis of the approaches taken to ensure that data in the physical and social domains are harmonised in an internationally-established process. Through an analysis of the criminological theme, the Plan4all process is integrated with the social and land use themes as identified in the CRISOLA model. The process serves as a basis for the need to view sharing as one part of the datacycle rather than an end in itself: without a solid protocol the foundations have been laid for the implementation of the datasets in the social and crime domains

Spatial Information Preparedness for Environmental Enforcement in the Maltese Islands

“…Such datasets included the Corine Landcover 1990-2006 and the relative change analysis, elevation maps, environmental protection maps (EEA CDDA, Natura 2000, SAC), enforcement and infringements mapping, IACS System (Integrated Agriculture Control System) (Commonwealth Connects, 2010), socioeconomic maps, terrestrial and marine habitats, a Posidonia baseline survey and in 2011, the Land use/cover area frame survey (LUCAS) field survey (EC, 2012). However such change requires both organisational as well as academic trusts, where various research initiatives were taken up, with topics in organisational change initiatives (Gatt et al, 1996), remote sensing (Tabone Adami, 1998), census web-mapping (Formosa, 2000), environmental-landuse (Tabone Adami, 2001), GML-related dissertations (Agius, 2003), ethics in GIS (Valentino, 2004), 3D GIS for spatial planning (Conchin, 2005), environmental (Farrugia, 2006), quality improvement cycle (Rizzo Naudi, 2007), through to socio-technical approaches to GIS (Formosa, Magri, Neuschmid, & Schrenk, 2011). Each served a role to create and ultimately shape GIrelated change in the Islands which lead to the preparation of the new foundation for national geographic information data cycle.…”

If Appleseed Had an Open Portal: Making Sense of Data, SEIS and Integrated Systems for the Maltese Islands

“…The steps taken outline a description of the basic data definitions, the legislative mechanisms, the international-reporting requirements, the tools available and projects that tackle the means to reach an open data construct. [16] [17], albeit limited by technology and/or lack of regulatory tools served to investigate user access and usage issues, with some basic Imagemap/GIS-client [18] (Figure 1a) and Interactive GIS [19] (Figure 1b) deliverables. The activities were based on the transposition of international directives, inclusive of the Data Protection Directive [20], the Public Sector Information Directive [21], the Aarhus Directive [22], the INSPIRE Directive [23], as well as the national initiative pertaining to the Freedom of Information Act [24].…”