Written by one of the world's leading experts on spatial data infrastructures (SDIs), this book explores existing European SDIs and the efforts of the European Union to create a framework for a multinational Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) in order to exploit the many opportunities being created by modern geographic information technologies. The institutional and decision-making context within which SDIs must be developed requires partnerships between the public and private sectors, and concerted government action will play a key role in helping INSPIRE oversome political and institutional barriers. The author discusses the steps needed to create a legal framework for the wide-ranging project and identifies key strategic issues for future SDI development.
Ian Masser has been fascinated by the notion of spatial data infrastructures in recent years and followed their implementation in different parts of the world with considerable interest. His research has been the subject of several books. The most recent of these, 'Building European SDIs,' describing the ground breaking INSPIRE initiative, was published by ESRI Press in June 2007. A second edition of this book containing details of developments since the approval of the INSPIRE Directive was published in July 2010.
He was Professor of Urban Planning at the International Institute for Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation (ITC) in the Netherlands between 1998 and 2002 and Founder Chairman of the Association of Geographic Information Laboratories in Europe (AGILE) from 1998 to 2000, President of the European Umbrella Organisation for Geographic Information (EUROGI) from 1999 to 2003 and President of the Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Association (GSDI) from 2002 to 2004.
