The new Paikkatietoikkuna shows maps one on the other
The national spatial data portal www.paikkatietoikkuna.fi has opened. Several data producers offer a varied range of maps for common use.
Paikkatietoikkuna offers the user a possibility to browse dozens of map levels, produced by different organizations, on different themes, such as terrain, soil and land use as well as traffic network. Address and place name search makes the use easier.
In the service, map levels and aerial photos can be viewed simultaneously one on the other, thanks to their adjustable transparency. Antiquities and topographic map or aerial photos and soil map or even nautical chart and topographic map are examples of overlapping functions.
The service enables the user to tailor an own map where it’s possible to save a link for oneself or send it to a friend.
Initially, map data is offered in the service by the Finnish Geodetic Institution, the Geological Survey of Finland, the Finnish Transport Agency, Logica, the National Land Survey of Finland, the Agency for Rural Affairs, the National Board of Antiquities, the Regional Council of Southwest Finland as well as the cities Espoo, Jyväskylä and Turku.
Various kind of map data is sought for the service directly from the data producers’ own systems, in which case the available data is as real time as possible.
More maps on the way
During the coming years, there will be more map data added to the service from different subject matters. This is due to the obligation by the law and order for spatial data infrastructure, which came into operation in 2009 in Finland. The base for them is the European INSPIRE directive.
In Finland, dozens of state administrative organisations and municipalities introduce so-called service interfaces in their information systems. These interfaces can be used for searching data in order to browse it in applications and to exploit it in maps and spatial data.
The National Land Survey of Finland is responsible for Paikkatietoikkuna and its development in co-operation with several other spatial data producers. After a one-year pilot phase, the service is now open for all.