Esri Provides Open Access to Critical Federal Geospatial Data
Esri, the worldwide leader in location intelligence, said today that it gives up access to dozens of high-priority, high-demand national data layers, referred to the government users as National Geospatial Data Assets, in cooperation with federal agencies (NGDA). This development is essential for national decision-making in sectors such as infrastructure development and disaster response.
Cartographic boundary files and demographic data from the US Census Bureau are being made available, as are National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Inventory of Dams (NID) database, which the US Army Corps of Engineers manage.
This new set of federal maps and applications is now available via ArcGIS Online. It contains approximately 75 national geospatial datasets on dams, bridges, federal public lands, runways, rail nodes, and more updated regularly from federal sources. Those looking for this information can access it through the web; no ArcGIS user license is required. Anyone can use, distribute, and modify the data with appropriate attribution under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. These datasets will also be accessible as Esri REST services and Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC) API Features for interoperability. Esri will also make the NGDA datasets available via a custom explorer app on the launch page.
The commercial sector will profit from the increased availability of NGDA datasets. Big companies with assets and interests spread throughout the United States, such as major merchants and insurance companies and railroads and utilities, need data that crosses cities, states, and regions. Having high-quality national data on hand saves organizations the time and money to collect and analyze it.
Esri's effort contributes to the broader vision of the Geospatial Data Act of 2018 (GDA), which aims to enable more individuals to utilize geospatial data and remove more barriers to interoperability. This is the company's second dataset made accessible to the public this year that does not need an ArcGIS license to view. In addition, Esri published the first-ever high-resolution (10-meter) global land-cover map for 2020 in June.
The ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World offers these open data services, the world's most comprehensive collection of geographic information, including maps, applications, and data layers.
About Esri
Esri, the global industry leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, assists clients in maximizing the value of data to enhance operational and business outcomes. Esri software, founded in 1969 in Redlands, California, USA, is used by over 350,000 organizations worldwide, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, nonprofits, and universities, as well as over 200,000 institutions in the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Esri has regional offices, worldwide distributors, and partners in over 100 countries across six continents, offering local assistance. Esri creates the most creative solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics because of its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology.