ParkInfo.org Parks and Recreation Sites

ParkInfo.org - Exciting New Cartography for Web Access to Parks and Recreation Sites


View Data from 3d ParkInfo.org combines the cartographic and the terrain to produce highly effective visualisations of the campgrounds and park boundary information.

The non-profit www.greeninfo.org Network has just put up a new version of its ParkInfo web site, offering up some great web map cartography that shows every public parks and protected open space in California, along with nifty integration of Google Maps API and Open Street Map data, Google Earth overlays, multiple search tools and more.

Full information on Parks, Campground at a click of a button.

ParkInfo uses the California Protected Areas Database (CPAD), a comprehensive and highly accurate GIS data set of everything from neighborhood tot lots to vast federal wilderness areas, almost all mapped to official property ownership boundaries. GreenInfo Network, which works for public interest groups on a wide range of GIS and information technology projects, maintains the 49 million acre, 15,000 unit CPAD database. CPAD is available for non-commercial use at www.calands.org , and has been developed with ESRI ArcGIS software.

The web site features the CPAD lands that are open to public use (some require a permit). The site lets users search near an address, by park or city name, or in a zip code. Search results show as lists and on the map and all parks on the map are clickable with more information - including a direct web link, driving/transit directions (via Google Maps Directions) and a link to Bing's Birdseye view of the site. The web map can also be enlarged to full screen to take advantage of the great cartography.

GreenInfo shifted from using Google's Streets view to its own custom MapView, which features 10 meter DEM data in an attractive hillshade and well-styled Open Street Map streets. When fully zoomed in, users also see contour lines. In addition to Satellite view, users can also easily browse all the ParkInfo data using the Google Earth plugin. ParkInfo also has all public campgrounds in the state and a selection of Open Street Map trails.

TopOSM terrain tiles have been used to show relief in 2D view for ParksInfo.org

Map tiles were created using the TopOSM scripts and rendering process created by Lars Ahlzen see http://toposm.com/usw/ for example. Areas, streets and labels are rendered using Mapnik. PostgreSQL with the PostGIS extension provides the spatial query capabilities for ParkInfo while a MapServer Web Map Service (WMS) GetFeatureInfo request returns park details when a user clicks on a park.

View the Map in 2D and 3D - http://www.parkinfo.org/

ParkInfo can be adapted into other organizations and agencies' web sites, allowing them to offer full search of public recreational opportunities. The State of California Department of Parks and Recreation has already done so at http://Findrecreation.parks.ca.gov

Composed by Larry Orman from http://www.greeninfo.org/ with thanks from Mapperz
GreenInfo is exploring an API as well as expanding ParkInfo to other U.S. states. Contact them at: parkinfo@greeninfo.org

Birds Eye View - Google Maps API - New

Birds Eye View - Google Maps API- Aerial Imagery
*limited coverage currently
**currently only available via the Google Maps API V2)

Users of Bing Maps (Virtual Earth/Live Maps fame) will recognised this maptype.


New Map Mode - Tilted Aerial Imagery comes to the Google Maps API.
(techies call it oblique aerial and its taken from aircraft from the side or front)
getmapping has a good set of examples
http://www2.getmapping.com/Services/Obliques


"Starting today [8th December 2009], developers will have access through the Google Maps API to high-resolution overhead imagery that is presented in a new aerial perspective. This is currently available in 2 spots in California: San Jose and San Diego. This new perspective gives users the ability to tilt their view of the world. In addition to seeing hotel rooftops like in our current "satellite" view, users can now see both the rooftop and sides of the hotel at an angle. In fact, users can rotate around all the sides of a hotel to get 4 different views from back to front"

2 Official Blog Posts
http://googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com/2009/12/getting-better-view-with-maps-api-v2.html

http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/12/changing-your-perspective.html

"What's great about this new imagery is that all of your existing data and Google Maps services like driving directions can be displayed on your map with no extra work. This is a result of a lot of code and computing power that reprojects the imagery to make it easy to overlay data on the map given lat/lon locations like in any other Google Map type. The result is a great user experience together with easy display of data on the map"

Documentation
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/introduction.html#AerialMapTypes

Examples:

Simple
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/examples/aerial-simple.html
Now with Auto-rotate
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/examples/aerial-rotation.html

@mapperz uber widescreen version (1200x800)
http://mapperz.googlepages.com/Aerial_RotateGoogle_Maps.html

Microsoft 'Static' Birds Eye View [Staging Preview]

Microsoft 'Static' Birds Eye View [Staging Preview]

Virtual Earth April 2009 update:

"This release is a mere 9+ TB of data; however, it covers over 1 million square kilometers of Earth"

http://blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/archive/2009/04/28/virtual-earth-imagery-release-april-2009.aspx


The Microsoft Virtual Earth Web Service SDK now allows you to access images in a static way

The are advantages to this including:

• Creating seamless 'stitched' images

• Generation for mobile devices (non-javascript or flash based)

• Inserting into documents

Getting Static Birds eye Images Using Microsoft's Virtual Earth Web Service

try it here
http://cp.cloudapp.net/GetBirdsEyeImage.aspx


courtesy of Chris Pendleton

Also available for road, aerial, hybrid tiles for use in desktop and mobile access.
see
http://blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/archive/2009/04/23/rendering-static-virtual-earth-bird-s-eye-images.aspx
for more information

UK - Street View Plus

UK - Street View Plus


View the new Street View images along with Birds Eye View in sync.

Use the Streetview window or Map - Car Icon is draggable - interactively updates your movement in each window.

Created with Map Channels Dual Maps - Free mapping tools for your website or blog.

Thinking: 1:50,000 - 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey Mapping pending Multimap 'Terms and Conditions'

http://mapperz.googlepages.com/Marble_Arch_Streetview_Plus.html

Related post:
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2009/03/street-view-plus.html

Developer note:
Bug: the svb (StreetView Bearing) is currently unavailable [users can still manually rotate the streetview images], Map Channels is informed and they are currently finishing another project but there is likely to be an update to this in the near future (plus enhancements)
please see:
Src Parameter Name: svb on this (at the bottom).

Bird's Eye View on Windows Mobile

Bird's Eye View on Windows Mobile


Finally Microsoft have made Birds Eye View available on a Mobile Platform - Windows Mobile 6.


Available in the Menu and Bird's Eye Mode option
*Bird's Eye View is not available everywhere - though most large cities in the USA/Canada/Europe/Australia regions will have Birds Eye oblique aerial photographs.

Hopefully soon this will be made available to all other platforms.

Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 Users
wls.live.com

other mobile users without Microsoft Windows Mobile
m.live.com
(no birds eye view mode/content yet)

Mapperz does not have Windows Mobile 6 and likely not too but if you want to test it try the emulator:
You will need
Microsoft Active Sync
Device Emulator Manager
Windows Mobile 6 Professional SDK

Help and useful guide:
http://www.lancelhoff.com/how-to-emulate-windows-mobile-6/

Source:
http://www.livesearchmobile.com/

Eye On Earth - Water Watch (Europe)

Eye On Earth - Water Watch (Europe)

See and rate how clean your beach is. European Environment Agency launched the Eye on Earth water campaign, using the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform. The new campaign monitors beach water quality along the coasts and allows the reporting of quality concerns. Virtual Earth provides a bird’s-eye view of beaches that users plan to visit and helps provide information on the cleanliness of the water before they make a trip.

"Eye on Earth retrieves data from 21,000 monitoring points across Europe, presenting recent water quality ratings for bathing sites in 27 countries, and for some beaches, historical ratings for up to the past 18 years. Countries including Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Portugal and Slovakia will also display the latest 2008 data, with more countries expected to update information in the near future. A traffic-light-style evaluation of water quality based on traditional monitoring methods is supported by similar ratings reflecting the experiences of people who have visited the beach. Combining these streams of information provides accurate and up-to-date information on bathing water quality across Europe, and makes it available to anyone who has access to the internet."
Source: Microsoft Press Release


Sennen Cove, Cornwall in 3D.
Beaches can also be viewed either in Birdseye View (Oblique Aerial) or in 3D View as above.
For a UK Birdeye View Beach, visit Bournemouth or Brighton.

"Eye on Earth allows users to zoom in on a given section of the coast or riverbank, both in street map or bird’s eye viewing formats. A ‘traffic-light’ evaluation (red, amber, green) of water quality based on scientific monitoring methods is supported by similar ratings reflecting the experiences of people who have visited the bathing site.

As part of the five-year partnership announced last May, the EEA and Microsoft will continue to develop the Eye on Earth portal by adding new sets of environmental information."

http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/heading-for-your-favourite-beach-is-the-bathing-water-clean

Suggestion: Great to see water quality, but having a rating on the conditions and potential dangers (rip tides, strong currents, large tidal range etc) would also be useful to the potential tourist.

Yell Maps - New Features

Yell Maps - New Features



MultiMap Based Mapping
Microsoft Virtual Earth Birds Eye View Mode
Points of Interest (POI)

• Car parks
  
• Cash dispensers
• WiFi Access
• Railway stations
  
• Speed Cameras
• Blue Badge parking
• Motorbike parking
  
• Public toilets
• Tube stations
• Bus stops (Includes Bus Routes for that location)
  
• Traffic news
• Bicycle parking
  
• Taxi ranks
• River taxis

Note: POI Features are available in the Birds Eye View - Helps visually to users and builds a mental picture for when they get there.





Where to find these maps
http://www.yell.com/ucs/HomePageAction.do
and search with the 'Show on Map' ticked.

Think this is the first type of cross Mapping as using Multimap for the base mapping - but then Microsoft Virtual Earth is being used in the Birds Eye View.

Yell have done a good update and this will be the best mapping they have had on there website.
Prediction - 2008 Hybird Mapping API. Though check Terms and Conditions on using different mapping applications together, some prohibit use with 'competitors' mapping solutions.
i.e. Yahoo Geocoder is only allowed to be used with Yahoo Maps.