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INTERNET-GIS DEVELOPMENT FOR MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES BASED ON 
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE 
R.Bill *, P. Korduan 
University of Rostock, Faculty for Agricultural and Environmental Science, Institute for Geodesy and Geoinformatics, 
18059 Rostock, Germany - (ralf.bill,peter.korduan)@auf.uni-rostock.de 
Commission IV, WG VI/2 
KEY WORDS: Spatial Information Sciences, GIS, Internet/Web, Interoperability, Infrastructure 
ABSTRACT: 
Many market surveys in Germany are indicating that the GIS usage in smaller municipalities and counties will increase in future. 
This is due to the fact that Internet technologies are offering advanced solutions, not only for eGovernment but also for GIS 
problems. Nevertheless costs are playing an important role. The concept of a cost-effective Internet-GIS solutions for communes and 
counties based on Open-Source-software is described. The principle ideas of Open-Source software and Internet-GIS technologies 
are presented and the technical realisation is described in more detail. 
The potential of such solutions is explained based on an example developed with the UMN Map Server for the administration in a 
county in Germany. UMN Map Server was originally developed at University of Minnesota (UMN) in the ForNet-project in 
cooperation with NASA and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. It is currently one of the most prominent Internet-GIS 
solutions besides the commercial products. In our research and development we are investigating different user scenarios and user 
interfaces, e.g. one for the cadastral office in the county, one for specific branches services on county level, one on the municipality 
level. Various GIS data sets (such as land register, topography, specific thematical maps) are integrated. Ortho photos created from 
low-cost aerial flight technique are a very important data source besides the legal data sets. The developed solution is now going into 
practical usage in the county Bad Doberan in the eastern part of Germany. 
The technical solution is realised mainly using open source software (WAMP architecture and UMN Map Server). 
1. INTRODUCTION . meaningful linkage of the geographical base data with the 
o. different technical and administrative data using the common 
With Internet-GIS (often also called WebGIS or online GIS) spatial reference the access and the actualization may be 
  
  
spatial and property datasets can be provided to a broad range facilitated substantially. A new term currently develops for such 
of users. Based on the technology of the Internet data can be a linkage of eGovernment and GIS technologies, named 
used in small company area networks (Intranet), in large world- GeoGovernment. 
wide information systems (Internet) as well as within the Due to the general availability the Internet technology gets 
mobile range with the employment by Location-based-Services. increasingly important for the official administrations. 
More and more information can be integrated through the Workload and operating time can be shortened and thus also 
constant capturing and storing of spatial information bringing it resources can be saved. From the combination and intersection 
into broader ranges of the Internet. A classification however, ofthe different information levels a new quality of data and 
what an Internet-GIS constitutes, is hardly possible, since the workmanship may result. 
technical realisation were made by different free committees The local agenda process puts additional pressure on the 
and product vendors. Thus, the range and the quality of administrative offices, because of its requirement to inform 
individual applications are very different. Thereby the Internet citizens about social, ecological and economical facts in the 
technology was adapted in such a way that nearly all municipality or county. Here the employment of Internet 
functionalities of a Geo-Information System (GIS, cf. Bill, technology and Open-Source-software represents a profitable 
1999a, 1999b) may be delivered in the net. At the same time it solution. 
will become possible to access different data sets from different ^ The Internet is based on Client-Server architecture. This offers 
data providers and products with common access over the the possibility that the data remain, can be administered and 
Internet. maintained at the place, where they are produced due to their 
A large part of the data in the public administration of the competence. Additionally also the programs on the server can 
municipalities and counties has spatial relations. That concerns remain and run there, so that the user of the data does not need 
text. data such as addresses or street kilometres (so-called to worry about specific software requirements at his PC. The 
secondary metrics, Bill, 19993) as well as coordinate-based data user needs to run only the standard Web Browser on a thin 
(so-called primary metrics, Bill, 19992) in maps like the Client and can achieve his goal by simply visualising and 
cadastral maps or the topographic maps. querying the data. This saves much time regarding training into 
Nearly all municipalities have severe financial problems. The programs, for the data management and the costs of hardware 
necessity exists more than ever for saving money. By a and software. In addition the responsibility for the data is still in 
* 
Corresponding author. 
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