Mauro Casaburi
Senior Technical Manager
Planetek Italia
Italy

Abstract
Geo-Social Web Portals: When INSPIRE Meets the Social Networks

Co-Author: Domenico Longhi, Regione Abruzzo

The geoportal of the Abruzzo Region allows a huge numbers of users access to the geospatial information of the Region. These users can access to the geo-information to enrich and share it through collaborative tools for Spatial Data Infrastructures. These tools, based on INSPIRE services (i.e. discovery, view and sharing of geospatial data) are designed according to a user-centric approach called “Design Thinking". The GeoPortal allows the regional institutions to manage and publish any type of content, not only geographic, which can be geo-localized. A geographic CMS (Content Management System) simplifies the system operators' tasks and supports the updating content process, implemented through an editorial workflow. In this way, the content publication is greatly simplified and it encourages the timely update of the geoportal, for the benefit of users. The GeoPortal facilitate the citizens' involvement in democratic life, thus supporting the decision process in the Public Administration, thanks to the availability of efficient interfaces (APIs). In this way, the institution can publish on-line geolocated documents and maps, and citizens can actively interact through both the participation in forums and the support of geo-located comments, viewable on the maps provided by the system, which support attachment like photos, videos and documents. This collaborative tool allows users to make geographic annotations directly on a map, which they can then share through direct links or social networks. Annotations are geo-located and sharable in interoperable formats such as GML, thus forming a first map layer that each user can enter in its own GIS, providing an initial working basis that can be then enriched through interaction with its collaborators' network. This paper will discuss the methodologies of design and development of the geoportal, the advantage in the use of geo-collaboration tools for the implementation of SDIs enabling the engagement of citizens, and the benefit of this kind of solution for smart cities and the design of master plans.