Norway represents one of the countries with most newspapers and media outlets per person. One topic that has an everlasting interest is land registration data - or more commonly: Who bought which properties and what was the price.
Land registration data has always been a public data set. Every citizen can request specific information on who has rights to which properties. Up until 1. January 2014 the digital version of this data set was monopolized by law to one vendor - obviously inhibiting innovation.
Starting in 2014 - land registration data has been opened and is now accessible to everyone. Webatlas seized this opportunity and hired two summer interns. The task was fairly easy: "Revolutionize the way land registration data is used in local newspapers."
After two hard-working months the resulting web application was used by a local newspaper with great results. The newspaper could finally showcase an interactive leaflet map displaying all real estate transactions in the area of interest. Behind the scenes the interns experienced a steep learning curve using PostGIS, GeoServer, Leaflet and a range of excellent plugins. Some of the more stable parts made it to the general use with an Open Source license on GitHub.
Today. The solution is used in the majority of Norways newspapers - now showcasing more maps than ever! All made possible by two excellent interns, open data sets and well proven Open Source software components. |