Why Geospatial Linked Open Data for Smart Mobility?

While the concept of Smart Cities is gaining momentum around the world and government data are increasingly available and accessible on the World Wide Web, key issues remain about Open Data and data standards for smart cities. A better integration and interoperabilty of data through the World Wide Web is only possible when everyone agrees on the standards for data representation and sharing. Linked Open Data positions itself as a solution for such standardization, being a method of publishing structured data using standard Web technologies. This facilitates the interlinking between datasets, makes them readable by computers, and easily accesible on the World Wide Web. We illustrate this through the example of an evolution from a traditional Content Management System with a geoportal, to a semantic based aproach. The Traffic Safety Monitor was developed in the period of 2012-2015 to monitor the road safety and to support policy development on road safety in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium). The system is built as a Content Management System (CMS), with publication tools to present geospatial indicators on road safety (e.g. the number of accidents with cars and the number of positive alcohol tests) as Web maps using stardardized Open Geospatial Consortium Webservices. The Traffic Safety Monitor is currently further developed towards a Mobility Monitor. Here, the focus is on the development of a business process model for the semantic exchange and publication of spatial data using Linked Open Data principles targeting indicators of sustainable and smart mobility. In the future, the usability of cycling Infrastructure for vehicles such as mobility scooters, bicycle trailers etc. can be assessed using Linked Open Data. The data and metadata is published in Linked open data format, opening the door for their reuse by a wide range of (smart) applications

Managing Road Safety through the Use of Linked Data and Heat Maps

Road traffic injuries are a critical public health challenge that requires valuable efforts for effective and sustainable prevention. Worldwide, an estimated 1.2 million people are killed in road crashes each year and as many as 50 million are injured. An analysis of data provided by authoritative sources can be a valuable source for understanding which are the most critical points on the road network. The aim of this paper is to discover data about road accidents in Italy and to provide useful visualization for improving road safety. Starting from the annual report of road accidents of the Automobile Club of Italy, we transform the original data into an RDF dataset according to the Linked Open Data principles and connect it to external datasets. Then, an integration with Open Street Map allows to display the accident data on a map. Here, the final user is able to identify which road sections are most critical based on the number of deaths, injuries or accidents

Improving use of location information in e-government processes: methodology and use case

Many e-government public services and underlying processes use location information but the use of this information is not always optimal, inhibiting both efficiency and effectiveness. This report describes a two step methodology for analysing and improving how location information is used in e-government processes, together with an approach for estimating the impact of location enablement on the performance of e-Government processes. The use of the methodology is illustrated by examining an existing use case: the Traffic Safety Monitoring process in Flanders. The process and the current and potential integration of location information are described in detail, as well as the potential improvements, the potential impact of further spatially enabling the process and a series of recommendations. This document is one of a series of guidance documents associated with the European Union Location Framework (EULF) Blueprint. It should be read in conjunction with the companion guidance document “EULF Design of Location-Enabled e-Government Services”JRC.B.6-Digital Econom

Performance Measurement of Location Enabled e-Government processes: A Case Study on Traffic Safety Monitoring

Over the past 10years, important efforts have been made to improve the access and sharing of location information, for example, through the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) directive (European Commission 2007) and the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES)/Copernicus initiative (European Commission 2016a) at European level and the development of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) at national and regional levels (Masser and Crompvoets 2014). However, it is expected that European Union (EU) institutions and member state public administrations could benet more from the potential of a consistent and integrated use of location information in e-government processes.JRC.B.6-Digital Econom

SDI-principles to support access to ecosystem service maps (ECOPLAN)

Concerns about the sustained delivery of a multitude of ecosystem services (ESs) are increasingly inspiring land use planners. However, major challenges still remain in the implementation of ESs in day-to-day decision making processes. Currently, geoportals developed using the concepts of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) are the preferred way to provide up-to-date ES-indicator maps to the planners, decision makers, businesses and citizens for effective use and re-use in their activities. SDIs encompass the technological and organisational components meant to facilitate and coordinate the standardised access, retrieval and dissemination of geospatial information. The ‘ECOPLAN Monitor’ is an example of such geoportal that informs the land use planners and the policy makers on the ecosystem services delivered in region of Flanders, Belgium. On the web-platform www.ecosysteemdiensten.be different maps of ESs, including the land suitability, actual and potential supply and (non-)monetary value of a set of 16 ESs can be consulted. The system is built as a Content Management System (CMS), with publication tools to present geospatial indicators of ESs as web maps. The SDI-principles were introduced to connect the interdisciplinary ES-indicators and create interoperable web services for discovery, viewing and exchange using the specifications set forward by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). Web service standards such as the web map service (WMS) are used for viewing and exchanging geospatial indicators. The effective use of the ES-indicators is supported by extensive metadata that describes the provenance, ownership, quality, temporal dimension (date of publishing/updating), data quality, spatial reference system (EPSG code), spatial resolution and other useful metadata items. This study highlights and discusses the contribution of SDI-related concepts and tools to overcome the bottlenecks in ecosystem services mapping. The focus is on simplifying the access to ecosystem service maps in addition to facilitating their interoperability and dissemination to end-users.status: publishe

Practical solutions for bottlenecks in ecosystem services mapping

Ecosystem services (ES) mapping is becoming mainstream in many sustainability assessments, but its impact on real world decision-making is still limited. Robustness, end-user relevance and transparency have been identified as key attributes needed for effective ES mapping. However, these requirements are not always met due to multiple challenges, referred to here as bottlenecks, that scientists, practitioners, policy makers and users from other public and private sectors encounter along the mapping process. A selection of commonly encountered ES mapping bottlenecks that relate to seven themes: i) map-maker map-user interaction; ii) nomenclature and ontologies; iii) skills and background; iv) data and maps availability; v) methods-selection; vi) technical difficulties; and vii) over-simplification of mapping process/output. The authors synthesise the variety of solutions already applied by map-makers and map-users to mitigate or cope with these bottlenecks and discuss the emerging trade-offs amongst different solutions. Tackling the bottlenecks described here is a crucial first step towards more effective ES mapping, which can in turn ensure the adequate impact of ES mapping in decision-making.status: publishe