Mapping Vancouver, B.C and the 2010 Olympics - Useful GIS and webmapping Resources
Written by @gletham
27 February 2006
If you watched the closing ceremonies of the Torino games you likely left with the impression that Vancouver, like the rest of Canada is full of French speaking people, chalk full of first nation people and their art, and Inukshuks. Well, surprise, there's much more to Vancouver than what you might have seen in the politically-correct show that was created for the Olympics. To get a tour of Vancouver, Whistler, and the surrounding municipalities you might consider checking out some of the fine online GIS applications and WebMaps.
The following list is by no means complete, however, these are some of the fine, local government webmapping sites available from the Vancouverer, BC area.
VanMap is the city's flagship webmapping resource at http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/vanmap/
Powered by Mapguide, the site is served up via the normal plug-in required interface or, there's also a Lite version (no plug-in needed). Users can access:
property lines
zoning information
sewer mains
water mains
addresses
public places
orthos
much more http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/vanmap/
City of North Vancouver - The City’s GIS Department has been an ESRI GIS site since 1989 and implemented an online mapping system using ESRI ArcIMS in 2001. The City has been exploring ways to leverage investment in the existing GIS system to enhance the City’s emergency preparedness. See the City of North Vancouver's GIS WebMap - http://www.geoweb.dnv.org/ http://www.cnv.org/default.aspx
Whistler Map - http://www.whistler.ca/Business/GIS.php
Through WhistlerMAP you will be able to navigate, at your convenience, to a variety of mapping related information including:
Property Information
Cadastral Data
Zoning
Protected Area Network (PAN)
Utilities and Servicing
High Resolution Aerial Photos
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The site already has Olympic info listed at http://www.whistler.ca/Vancouver_2010/Whistler_Venues/index.php
The City of Abbotsford, BC - Abbotsford launched the application, called WebMap, in spring 2002 making publicly accessible for the first time nearly all of the data layers that are compiled in the city’s existing GIS. The decision to create WebMap was driven partially by a city initiative to make electronic government a priority, although financial considerations were also a compelling factor. See http://webmap.abbotsford.ca/webmap/
Burnaby Maphttp://webmap.city.burnaby.bc.ca/
Another slick online mapping application offering up information from the city's Engineering department. You'll find population data, trails, environmental information, and aerial photos.
City of Surrey, BC - http://www.city.surrey.bc.ca/ http://www.surrey.ca/default.htm - COSMOS which provides the ability to query, view and print a wide range of City information such as zoning, aerial photography, utilities, parks, roads and recreation facilities.
Other related mapping applications - City of Nanaimo, BC Nanaimo Map http://citymap.nanaimo.ca/ & http://www.nanaimo.ca/residents/index_inside.asp?id=117&collection=19 & http://www.nanaimo.ca/
Nanaimo is across the strait of Juan de Fuca West of North Vancouver and Whistler. The small city boasts and excellent GIS crew and has some fine online mapping. Of interest to you Google Earth fans, check out http://earth.nanaimo.ca/data.html a resource where you can access Google Earth KMLs including a virtual tour of the city's ddowntown and the central business district (kudos to Jason Birch on the continued development of this resource)
City of Victoria, BC, the Provincial capital - http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca/cityhall/departments_plnsur.shtml
Unfortunately, Victoria is a bureaucratic nightmare, the city of some 400,000 is actually carved up into about 13 or 14 local government entities, each having their own agenda.. the result... some pretty sad online webmaps, webmapping and supporting services. See http://www.city.victoria.bc.ca/business/about_map.shtml but don't expect too much! PS... I really like the PDF map of North America.. what the he#$# is that all about???
Some of the coolest and most useful maps and imagery from Vancouver and Whistler BC come from a private company... See http://www.mapsbyair.com/workshop/index.htmlMcElhanney Consulting Services Ltd (MCSL), a premier provider of digital air photos, proudly offers their 1999 digital air photos of Vancouver, Whistler and the Fraser Valley, BC for FREE on the www.MapsByAir.com website. These colour airphotos from 1999 let you see ground details down to 50cm. In a related effort, see RealtyByAir.com from McElhanney Consulting Services - With RealtyByAir.com you can virtually "walk" your prospective buyers around a neighborhood and give them a comprehensive review of a home’s location from an aerial point of view.
County Resources - Finally, in most of Canada you won't find resources from County level government (although Ontario does have counties). Instead, in BC you'll find resourcess from Regional Districts. A regional district is a larger political jurisdiction with boudaries typically coinciding with watersheds, making management of natural resources, Water, air, polution more realistic. Regional Districts are made up of appointed officials, not elected officers and thus face much criticism and opposition. The city of Vancouver and some of the surrounding municipalities fall within the Vancouver Regional District and you'll find some maps online at http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/growth/maps.htm. For more information about Regional Districts in BC See http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/Regions/regDist.asp.
Business notes: BC is geospatial "hotbed" in Canada with many large companies (Safe Software, MDA), small shops (Latitude Geographics, McElhanney, Municipal Software, ResMap), and consultants based in the Province. No doubt the 2010 Olympics will offer some amazing opportunities for GIS, surveying, and mapping professionals. To stay abreast of RFPs and tenders you might wish to check out BC Bids at http://www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca/
Looking for more Vancouver-based companies or online resources? Simply use the GISuser "Search" utility and bang in "Vanouvcer" for plenty of interesting results. Did we miss something here? Feel free to ping info-at-gisuser with your comments.
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
10 Ways Your Tech Business Can Take Advantage of Twitter - Many companies and individuals are still asking themselves how can I use Twitter in my business? The following is a small sampling of some of the ways that your technology business can use Twitter to your advantage.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs
If you watched the closing ceremonies of the Torino games you likely left with the impression that Vancouver, like the rest of Canada is full of French speaking people, chalk full of first nation people and their art, and Inukshuks. Well, surprise, there's much more to Vancouver than what you might have seen in the politically-correct show that was created for the Olympics. To get a tour of Vancouver, Whistler, and the surrounding municipalities you might consider checking out some of the fine online GIS applications and WebMaps.
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