TOWARDS A SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE: BRAZILIAN INITIATIVES

Abstract

In the mid 1980s, the use of conceptual models, common standards, and metadata as well as high level designed GISs became more common. Together with concepts such as data warehousing, these advancements led to the idea of Spatial Data Infrastructure - SDI (known inside Brazil as Infra-Estrutura de Dados Espaciais - IDE). SDI have allowed efficient design of frameworks for managing spatial data and provided a more comprehensive view of how spatial data can be distributed and used. Ideally, access to SDI should be easy and global, connecting users that produce and manipulate the data, whether in business or government sectors, academia or in the general population. This paper contains an overview of the SDI concept. Also are examined are components of an SDI and its hierarchy of structures. These concepts are then connected to SDI experiences in Brazil. This paper will highlight some of the more prominent Brazilian experiences, although other SDI efforts are also underway.