Initiatives, such as INSPIRE and the US DHS Geospatial Data Model, are working to develop a rich set of standards that will create harmonized models and themes for the spatial information infrastructure. However, this is only the first step. Semantically meaningful models must still be developed in order to stimulate interoperability.

Creating Spatial Information Infrastructures (SII) presents solutions to the problems preventing the launch of a truly effective SII. Leading experts in SII development present a complete overview of SII, including user and application needs, theoretical and technological foundations, and examples of realized working SII’s. The book includes semantic applications in each discussion and explains their importance to the future of geo-information standardization.

Offering practical solutions to technical and nontechnical obstacles, this book provides the tools needed to take the next step toward a working semantic web—one that will revolutionize the way the world accesses and utilizes spatial information.