Infrastructure for Spatial Information in European Community (INSPIRE) Through the Time from 2007. Until 2017

Abstract

The term of infrastructure, as a mechanism of support for spatial data, has been used for the first time in the early 1990s in Canada. Today, the concept of spatial data infrastructure (SDI) has become a worldwide new paradigm for the collection, use, exchange and distribution of spatial data and information. Spatial data infrastructure has been developed through sets of spatial data, metadata, agreements for joint spatial data use and distribution, network services and related coordination activities. SDI is always present in a certain form, but the level of implementation varies according to current demand and technological readiness. Subjects can be classified at several basic levels – from personal and corporative, through local and county, to national, regional and finally, global. Today, the most important level is the national one, i.e. the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) project (OG 16/2007) and INSPIRE Directive (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community - 2007/2/EC). Without spatial data and related services it would be impossible to manage space effectively, plan city development and infrastructure networks, monitor situation on the ground, or carry out many other activities. This paper gives an overview what has been happening throughout the time with INSPIRE Directive starting from 2007. including legislative regulations, technical requirements, assumed standards, scientific methodologies, developed data specifications and, finally, resulting software tools and services. The assessment also describes overall country-wise alignment to INSPIRE standards and services implementation throughout EU member states, thus their readiness for fully standardized data acquisition, representation and exchange on national and regional levels. Hereby represented country- specific implementation assessment includes following indicators: (a) legislative conformance with imposed INSPIRE regulations, (b) technical SDI conformance with imposed standards and data specifications, and (c) implemented INSPIRE-compliant systems, services and datasets.