[OSM-talk] Update on TIGER data

[Steve Chilton]

Update on TIGER from http://apb.directionsmag.com/ today
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U.S. Census
Jim Castagneri of the Census Bureau noted that many changes are ongoing:

The last TIGER/Line file was released Spring 2007

TIGER has been completely re-designed in-house to reside in an Oracle
database; Geographic products are produced from a subset "product
database." Prior to 2006,TIGER could not be modeled because of the lack
of topology; TIGER/Line files are being replaced by TIGER Shape files in
fall 2007

TIGER/GML - based on GML and intended to support the OGC standards for
data exchange; sample data will be on the web soon.

WebTIGER - uses TIGER/GML; A WFS interface allowing requests for
geographic features across the web using the XML-based GML for data
exchange.

Castagneri also noted that the impact of these changes on Local
Governments will include:
Fewer paper-based programs;
Easier to submit feature & boundary updates via digital files;
More positionally accurate TIGER data will ease demographic data
integration into local GIS;
TIGER & National Map data (USGS) will more closely resemble GIS data.
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Cheers
STEVE

Steve Chilton, Learning Support Fellow
Learning and Technical Support Unit Manager 
School of Health and Social Sciences
Middlesex University
phone/fax: 020 8411 5355
email: steve8 at mdx.ac.uk

Chair of the Society of Cartographers: http://www.soc.org.uk/

SoC conference 2007:
http://www.port.ac.uk/special/soc/

Mind the (Map) Gap:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5413010.stm