Higher Education Profiling using Open Source GIS - A Primer on OpenStreetMap Data, Mapnik & OpenLayers

Higher Education Profiling using Open Source GIS - A Primer on OpenStreetMap Data, Mapnik & OpenLayers

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  Higher EducationProfiling using Open Source GISA Primer on OpenStreetMap Data, Mapnik & OpenLayers Oliver O’Brien & Alex SingletonDepartment of GeographyUniversity College London
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  ContentsThe ProblemRequirementsThe SolutionOpenStreetMapDataMapnikOpenLayersData SourcesPutting it all TogetherThe Completed Atlas
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  The Problem: Presentingthe DataA large amount of education-related spatial information available from various governmental bodies but not in a readily accessible graphical form (i.e. maps) for non-technical users.Dept. for Schools, Children and FamiliesCommunities and Local GovernmentHigher Education Funding Council for EnglandHigher Education Statistics AgencyOffice for National Statistics“Widening participation” initiatives require effective ways to view such data, to make decisions on target schools and areas.
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  Requirements I. StraightforwardStandaloneGISesHard to use (Haklay, 2009a)Often expensiveRequire delivery of data to the client
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  Requirements I. StraightforwardWebGISesSlowUnattractiveDifficult and/or expensive to buildMay require delivery of vector data to the client
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  Requirements I. Straightforward“SlippyMaps”Simple to useVery popularSimple to buildPowerful API (e.g. Google Maps API)
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  Requirements II. AccessibleSoftwareinstallation Requires time and skill Constrained by platformPlug-ins Generally require a fast computer Still some platform issuesA solution without installation or plug-ins is most accessible HTML, CSS, AJAX PNG images
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  Requirements III. SelfContainedNo dependencies on third parties with constraintsOrdnance Survey “tile limits”The “derived data” problem, Google and Ordnance SurveyCan’t put Ordnance Survey derived data on a Google Maps “mashup”Government departments often provide data that has been geolocated from Ordnance Survey mapping (e.g. using National Grid References)Ordnance Survey is being very active at protecting use of its data at the moment
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  Requirements III. SelfContainedFull control over what’s on the mapGoogle’s colour scheme and branding can be distracting
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  The Solution: AnEducation AtlasStatic tiles of choropleth mapsMinimal computer requirementsScalableMapnikMakes “beautiful” raster mapsOpenStreetMap dataEasily available data source to create background mapsFull control over what is includedOpenLayersProvides the “slippy map” interface familiar to usersSelf-contained
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  Using OpenStreetMap DataFora background map to provide contextWill include roads, town names, coastlinesWe don’t want all the data – just what we needWays to obtain the dataDirectly from osm.org as XML, requires convertingShapefiles produced by CloudMade or GeofabrikData quality and completenessImproving rapidly (Haklay, 2009b)Now pretty good for England (Reed, 2009)Can always obtain a very up-to-date datasetwww.openstreetmap.org
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  Using Mapnik“Mapnik isa Free Toolkit for developing mapping applications. Above all Mapnik is about making beautiful maps.” – mapnik.orgData SourcesShapefilesPostGIS databasesDirect from OpenStreetMapTilesCan be configured to systemically create square tiles at different zoom levels for the whole countrywww.mapnik.org
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  Using MapnikStylesheets forthe cartographye.g. minor rivers and canals <Rule><Filter>[waterway]='river' or [waterway]='canal'</Filter><MaxScaleDenominator>80000 </MaxScaleDenominator> <LineSymbolizer> <CssParameter name="stroke">#88c <CssParameter name="stroke-width">3 <CssParameter name="stroke-linejoin”>round <CssParameter name="stroke-linecap">round </LineSymbolizer> <TextSymbolizername="name" face_name="DejaVu Sans Book" size="10" fill="#666" halo_radius="1" placement="line" min_distance="200"/> </Rule>
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  Using OpenLayersA wayto display maps on a websiteJust a simple web browser is neededAccepts “layers” from many sourcesGoogle MapsMicrosoft Bing, Virtual Earth, YahooArcGIS 9.3 Mapping ServicesOrdnance Survey OpenSpaceMore powerful (but more complex) than the popular Google Maps APIwww.openlayers.org
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  Other Data SourcesNewPopular Edition PostcodingGovernment DataCombined with UKBORDERS boundary data, to create choropleths of each educational metricIncludes the National Pupil Database with postcode, for Key Stage 4 (GCSE) and Key Stage 5 (A-Level)
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  Putting it allTogether: Tile GenerationOpenStreetMap APIStylesheetGeofabrik ShapefilesMapnikPostGISDatabaseOther .gov.ukTilesShapefilesUKBORDERSmySQLDatabaseDSCF.gov.uk
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  Putting it allTogether: The WebsiteWeb BrowsersOpenLayersTilesmySQLDatabaseThe layers in OpenLayersTop: Schools (pins)Middle: Network (B&W)NPEMap PostcodesBottom: Choropleth (colours)
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  The Completed AtlasIDACIin Hampstead vs. Willesden, London
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  The Completed AtlasA-LevelFrench Popularity in S.E. England
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  Putting it allTogether: The Completed AtlasA-Level Geography Popularity in England
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  The Completed AtlasOutputArea Classification in Manchester
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  The Completed AtlasIDACIin Manchester
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  The Completed AtlasGCSEPerformance in Manchester
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  ProblemsNo spatial datafor independent schools or further education colleges – hence no A-Level metrics for Manchester
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  Tiling process isquite slow and requires ~1GB of storage space for each choropleth setNext StepsBring in higher education flow data