This talk gives an introduction to linked data, and will focus on challenges around constructing linked data for geographic and spatial information. Examples will focus on work being done at Ordnance Survey and the wider UK Government. A lot of data references some kind of location whether it is a place name, street name, address, postcode or some kind of coordinate. Because of this it is becoming clear that location provides an important data integration hub on the linked data web. This talk gives an introduction to linked data, and will focus on challenges around constructing linked data for geographic and spatial information. Examples will focus on work being done at Ordnance Survey and the wider UK Government.

1. Linked data
Dr John Goodwin
Principal Scientist

2. The nice thing about standards…

3. Programmes of work…
• Spatial Data Infrastructures
• Linkable data – use of unique
identifiers

4. Five stars of linked open data

5. Resource description framework (RDF)
The RDF has:
•been around for over 10 years – W3C Standard; and
•it is to the ‘web of data’ as HTML is to the ‘web of documents’.
Subject
predicate
object
Subject
predicate
value
URIs XML Schema
Datatype

6. Data silos
Person
Place
Organisation

7. Break down data silos
Person
Place
Organisation
http://reference.data.gov.uk/id/department/os
http://reference.data.gov.uk/id/department/os/post/1
http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/id/7000000000037256
cg:postIn
foaf:based_near

9. Towards a URI for every ‘place’ in GB
The City of Southampton:
http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/id/7000000000037256
The postcode unit SO16 0AS:
http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/id/postcodeunit/SO160AS

16. data.gov.uk
• Government departments
• Other public bodies
• Ministers
• Members of Parliament
• Members of the House of Lords
• Companies House
• Land Registry
• UK, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Ireland Legislation
• ONS Codes History Database
• Environment Agency Bathing Water Quality Data
• and much much more… (including the BBC and Google!)

17. Joining up government

18. http://environment.data.gov.uk/doc/bathing-water
?county=http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/id/7000000000017765

19. “Big Data”
Big Data:
• Volume
• Velocity
• Variety

20. Exploring the Graph

21. A big bucket of data
‘Find me all GPs in my ward, bus stops within a 500 metre radius
of those GPs, but exclude bus stops in areas of high crime’
Environment
Transport
Health
Education
Business
Weather
Crime
Council

24. GeoSPARQL
• GeoSPARQL – OGC standard
• http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/geosparql

25. Conclusion
• Data shows its true value when combined with other data
sources – linked data creates an opportunity
• Usability: common data model and reference of common URIs
(for example, postcodes) allows for easy data aggregation and
integration.
• Shift in focus from cartography and geometries to ‘things’ and
the relationships between them.
• Not difficult…just a bit different.
• Spatial no longer special – part of the bigger information
world…
• … But location is a very important information hub and provides
a key underpinning reference framework which brings many
datasets together and provides important context.

26. Contact for further information
John Goodwin
john.goodwin@ordnancesurvey.co.uk