LINZ and Ministry for Culture and Heritage collaborate on cultural heat map

Please note: The geospatial viewer was funded by LINZ until 30 June 2012 to assist the production of and consultation on the Auckland Spatial Plan. The geospatial viewer is no longer available to the public.

When planning the future development of a region, it’s important to be able to view a comprehensive map of where existing services are, and to make informed decisions about where new services may be needed.

As the Auckland region continues to grow and develop, so does the need for cohesive planning to support this growth. This has given rise to the Auckland Spatial Viewer.

Bringing together various sources of location data has allowed for the creation of an online geospatial map of Auckland, a single place where Government departments can show and share information about their infrastructure assets.

Using geospatial data and services provided with LINZ support, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) has created a cultural heat map of Auckland City, giving new insight into existing cultural and heritage data.

The heat map is a powerful visualisation of cultural amenities and sites in the Auckland region. It gives central and local government a view of where services are located, helping them as they make decisions on supporting future culture and heritage development in the rapidly expanding region.

The cultural heat map and the associated data make up just one portion of the Auckland geospatial viewer. This viewer was compiled to assist with the production of and consultation on the Auckland Spatial Plan, which identifies priorities for Auckland’s development and will be guiding local government policy for the next 30 years.

The viewer brings together geospatial information from central and local government, and enables this information to be viewed on LINZ base information including topographical images and cadastral data. This shows the relationships between different data sets while planning for different services, changes to city infrastructure, and future growth areas.

This information was collated and the viewer configured by Explorer Graphics Limited – now North South GIS NZ - with data provided by central government agencies and the Auckland council. The work on the Auckland spatial viewer contributes to the NZGO’s work on establishing a national Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and demonstrates the value of data sharing across central and local government.

The initial cultural map, from which the heat map was generated, included four layers: dance theatres, music venues, museums and war memorials. Later versions included other sites and amenities of cultural importance including marae, arts and crafts markets and galleries. Placing these sites and amenities on the same map that illustrates infrastructures such as travel networks displays possible relationships between the data sets, and in turn allows for new approaches towards planning in cultural spending.

In addition to gaining new insights into culture and heritage data through spatial representation, viewing data through the geospatial viewer gave MCH a clear overview of existing information.

The cultural heat map has had a very positive response from the wider arts and heritage community. Cultural commentator Hamish Keith has been especially enthusiastic about the heat map, writing in support to the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and in his column in the Listener. Positive press has also been given by Art News Magazine and the arts website The Big Idea.

The cultural heat map demonstrates the possibilities opened up by sharing geospatial information between agencies. It demonstrates how a spatial view can provide new insights and understanding to support improved planning and decision making.

For queries about the Auckland Spatial Viewer, contact Geoff O’Malley in the NZ Geospatial Office: 04 498 3501, gomalley@linz.govt.nz.