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Ordnance Survey launches OS OpenData |
New project to deliver greater geographic information access in Britain.
Ordnance Survey has launched OS OpenData, which will deliver greater access to geographic information in Britain than ever before.
OS OpenData allows users to download a wide range of mapping and geographic information for free reuse direct to their computers, view maps and boundary information for the whole country and develop web-map applications using Ordnance Survey’s OS OpenSpace Application Programming Interface.
The project aims to support greater transparency and accountability within Government, improve public services and create new economic and social value.
The release of free data comes after a public consultation document set out various long-term strategic options for Ordnance Survey.
Government funded OS OpenData is made up of a range of raster and vector mapping datasets, including the detailed 1:10 000 scale OS Street View, Boundary-Line, which provides the electoral and administrative geography of the country, and Meridian 2 and Strategi which offer customisable views of Britain’s topography.
OS Street View, 1: 50 000 Gazetteer, 1: 250 000 Colour Raster, OS Locator, Boundary-Line, Code-Point Open, Meridian 2, Strategi, MiniScal, Land-Form PANORAMA and OS VectorMap District are datasets included in OS OpenData.
Communities Secretary John Denham said: "The move to free up public data encourages fresh thinking - people re-using information in different and more imaginative ways than may have originally been intended."
"The changes signal a wider cultural change in Government based on an assumption that information should be in the public domain unless there is a good reason not to - not the other way around. Greater openness, accountability and transparency in Government will give people greater choice and make it easier for individuals to get more directly involved in issues that matter to them."
Further information:
Ordnance Survey
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