Free Online Access to Digital Mapping Data

It is now official. This means that digital data from Natural Resources Canada is available at no cost. An important step forward in data liberation! Now if we can only get other government agencies to move in the same direction…

Clip from press release:

Experts and other users of digital topographic data will no longer have to pay to use digital versions of government maps and data. Natural Resources Canada began providing this data free of charge on April 1, 2007, to help ensure the availability of accurate and consistent information.

Full Press Release

Data Sites for NRCan data:

Non-Profit Formed to Give Away Satellite Imagery for Educational, Humanitarian Use

Here is something I saw on another blog that might be useful for future projects. Always looking for access to no-cost/low-cost data 🙂

Geospatial information firm GeoEye announced that it has formed a non-profit foundation to promote teaching of geospatial information technologies as well as assist humanitarian and environmental research studies.

The GeoEye Foundation intends to provide free archive satellite imagery to students and faculty at select educational institutions. Analysts or researchers at non-governmental organizations can also apply for the free imagery. The foundation will make available to the selected researchers, some of GeoEye’s 278 million square kilometers of satellite imagery. To obtain the free imagery, an applicant must submit an application outlining their research goals and objectives.

Matt O’Connell, CEO of GeoEye said that he hopes the program will help attract more young people to university’s geospatial programs. “One of the biggest challenges facing our rapidly growing industry is attracting new employees fast enough,” he said. “We’re looking forward to seeing the exciting and groundbreaking work that will arise from GeoEye Foundation’s partnership with universities and institutes.”

The GeoEye Foundation has already provided satellite imagery to assist in the study of urban sprawl in Mexico, land-use planning for Jerusalem, and study polar ice in Antarctica. If you’ve got an idea for a study you think could us some free satellite imagery, contact Mark Brender (info@geoeyefoundation.org) to find out more.

Via GeoCarta blog

Free The Maps

Found this great website. Now if we could only do something like this with more data in Canada… 🙁

Help liberate over 56,000 digital USGS maps. Donate or purchase maps on DVD to meet the ransom demand. Once the $1600 ransom is met, all maps will be handed over to the Internet Archive. The Internet Archive will make every map available for free download forever!

Read more at Free The Maps

CivicAccess – Public Launch

Public Launch – CivicAccess
April 26, 2006
(Le texte francais suit l’anglais)

We would like to announce the launch of a new online space for Canadian civic engagement – Citizens for Open Access to Civic Information and Data (aka: CivicAccess.ca). CivicAccess is being founded by librarians, civil servants, academics, lawyers, free- and open-source advocates, geomatics professionals and community planners from across Canada. We are motivated by the belief that open civic information and data are necessary for being engaged citizens in an “information society”.

Our goals are:

To encourage all levels of governments (county, municipal, provincial, federal) to make civic data and information available to citizens without restrictions, at no cost, and in useable open formats.

To encourage the development of citizen projects using civic data and information

Access to civic information and data help us make informed choices as voters. In addition it helps to ensure government transparency and accountability – essential elements of a democracy. These are the bits and bytes required to understand, critically analyze, and re-envision the communities in which we live.

As engaged citizens in our neighbourhoods, cities, and provinces we are working to develop a community of practice on open civic data in Canada.

This is an idea whose time has come. Please join us in making it a reality!

Founders: Darin Barney, Marcus Bornfreund, St�phane Couture, Patrick Dinnen, Daniel Faivre, Michael Geist, Stephane Guidoin, Michael Gurstein, Daniel Haran, Ted Hildebrandt, Alton Hollett, Cory Horner, Tracey Lauriault, Nathalie Leclerc, Michael Lenczner, Graham Longford, Hugh McGuire, Russell McOrmond, Robin Millette, Joe Murray, Michael Pilling, Joel Rivard, Gabe Sawhney, Phillip Smith and Marc Tuters.

To find out more:

Discussion List – http://civicaccess.ca/mailman/listinfo/civicaccess-discuss_civicaccess.ca/
Website – http://civicaccess.ca/
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Lancement publique – Acc�sCivique
26 avril, 2006

Nous souhaitons vous annoncer le lancement d’un nouvel espace en ligne d�di� � l’engagement citoyen au Canada : Citoyen-ne-s pour un Acc�s Libre � l’Information et aux Donn�es Civiques (aussi d�sign� par Acc�sCivique). Acc�sCivique a �t� fond� par une vaste communaut� � travers tout le Canada compos�e de biblioth�caires, d’employ�s gouvernementaux, d’universitaires, de sp�cialistes du droit, de d�fenseurs des logiciels libres, de professionnels en g�omatique et d’acteurs du monde communautaire. Nous croyons fermement que des informations civiques libres d’acc�s repr�sentent un outil incontournable pour tout citoyen engag� dans un contexte de soci�t� de l’information.

Nos buts sont :

D’encourager tous les paliers gouvernementaux (municipal, comt�, provincial, f�d�ral) � mettre � la disposition des citoyens les donn�es et informations civiques dans des formats ouverts, sans restriction d’utilisation et ce gratuitement.

De supporter le d�veloppement de tout projet citoyen se basant sur les donn�es et informations civiques.

Un acc�s libre aux donn�es et informations civiques nous aide � faire des choix �clair�s en tant que citoyens et �lecteurs. C’est �galement un gage de transparence et d’imputabilit� de nos gouvernements, un �l�ment essentiel dans toute d�mocratie. Ce sont l� les �l�ments cl�s n�cessaires � la compr�hension, � l’analyse critique et � l’�laboration des communaut�s dans lesquelles nous vivons.

En tant que citoyens engag�s dans nos quartiers, nos villes, nos provinces, nous travaillons pour d�velopper une communaut� de pratique centr�e sur les donn�es civiques libres au Canada.

Le temps est venu de d�velopper cette vision. Joignez-vous � nous pour en faire une r�alit� !

Fondateurs : Darin Barney, Marcus Bornfreund, St�phane Couture, Patrick Dinnen, Daniel Faivre, Michael Geist, Stephane Guidoin, Michael Gurstein, Daniel Haran, Ted Hildebrandt, Alton Hollett, Cory Horner, Tracey Lauriault, Nathalie Leclerc, Michael Lenczner, Graham Longford, Hugh McGuire, Russell McOrmond, Robin Millette, Joe Murray, Michael Pilling, Joel Rivard, Gabe Sawhney, Phillip Smith et Marc Tuters.

Pour participer :

Liste de discussion – http://civicaccess.ca/mailman/listinfo/civicaccess-discuss_civicaccess.ca/

Adresse Web – http://civicaccess.ca/

Health Regions Data – Statistics Canada

Health regions: boundaries and correspondence with census geography

Health Regions 2005 describes in detail the health region limits as of June 2005 and their correspondence with the 1996 and 2001 Census geography. Health regions are defined by the provinces and represent administrative areas or regions of interest to health authorities. This product contains correspondence files (linking health regions to census geographic codes) and digital boundary files. User documentation provides an overview of health regions, sources, methods, limitations and product description (file format and layout).

In addition to the geographic files, this product also includes 2001 Census data (basic profile) for health regions.

http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/82-402-XIE/82-402-XIE2006001.htm

Health region boundary files

Digital boundary files reflecting health region limits in effect as of June 2005.

Ontario (ArcGIS/ArcView format)

  • Public health unit (3.0 MB)
  • Local Health Integration Network (4.9 MB)
    (Revised 2006)

Census data

2001 Census data ‘profile’ provides a statistical overview at the health region level, presenting most of the census variables.

Census profile of health regions

2001 Basic profile (1,217kb) – Revised April 2006 to reflect current LHIN boundaries in Ontario. (Beyond 20/20 format)

Correspondence files

Code-to-code correspondence between health regions and both 1996 and 2001 Census geographic units.

2001

Health region-to-2001 Census dissemination area (blocks for Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta)

Ontario

  • Public health unit
  • Local Health Integration Network
    (Revised April 2006)

1996

Health region-to-1996 Census enumeration area

  • Ontario Local Health Integration Network
  • (Revised April 2006)