Geographic data is about much more than electronic pictures of
maps.
The geographic data that describes our world allows for
city planning,
flood prediction and relief, emergency service routing, environmental assessments, wind pattern monitoring and many other applications.
Geographic data is processed with
Geographic information system (GIS) software which can, as one aspect of its functioning, produce
maps.
In the
United States, geographic data collected by central government is made available free of copyright for no more than the cost of distribution. The
United States Census Bureau's
TIGER Mapsurfer provides a web service and also offers data free for download. TIGER allows you to build a
geocoding facility with which to spatially locate addresses. Given the ability to geocode street addresses and other features, one can create a lot of interesting spatial analysis,
location-based service,
political campaigning apps and localised
search services.
In the
EU there is a
European Union directive (INSPIRE directive) to establish shared
standards between the different countries, accompanied by web viewing of rendered map data, and an as yet unspecified license framework for geographic data.
See also
- home page, describing geographic data policy for the EU.
- - analysis of licensing and distribution wording.
- home page (lots of geographic data for free)
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