A major question I have is, how can any entity of such enormous size really
ensure the accuracy of parcel geometries, and associated attributes, absent
the contribution of ongoing hyper-local knowledge.

An interesting related issue is my observation that Google Maps uses a
crappy 2003 parcel file that was reluctantly posted on the City of New
Orleans website by a crony professional services contractor who has always
fought open data as a threat to his business. The geometry and attributes
are so wildly inaccurate that the parcels don't even match Google satellite
imagery in many cases.

An interesting topic for discussion might be what Google's *responsibility*
is to help support data improvement efforts already underway by neighborhood
associations post-Katrina, since Google is apparently profiting by ganking
anything it can find, irrespective of its quality, essentially expecting
that it should be allowed to freeload off of the investment committed by
taxpayers to the creation of data.

The same questions should apply to any company that aggregates huge volumes
of local-level data. How do we know it's accurate, and what are the terms of
the arrangement?

Brian Denzer

NolaStat 2010 <http://NolaStat.org>  |  A new operating system for New
Orleans <http://NolaStat.org>


On Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 11:26 PM, Webb Sprague <[email protected]>wrote:

> On Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 9:48 AM, Landon Blake <[email protected]> wrote:
> > I can’t even get my County to release their parcel GIS data under the
> public
> > domain or similar open license. I also can’t get my local tax assessor to
> > give me a dump of their APN data.
>
> Can I suggest you call your county commissioner and other electeds?
>
> I think  data is still closed because the open data issue is not on
> elected officials radar whatsoever.  If your commissioner thinks he/
> she may lose votes because of this, s/he might start lighting some
> fires, ....
>
> I would love to see an (open) data caucus in my state legislature...
>
> --
> 1.  Learn from everyone.
> 2.  Follow no one.
> 3.  Watch for patterns.
> 4.  Work like he[ck].
>             Scott McCloud, 2006
>
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>
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