An easy-to-use service that improves work efficiency
About two-thirds of those who responded to our survey said they use Paikkatietoikkuna in their work, and the majority of them need it daily or weekly. The largest group of respondents work in research and expert positions. Three other industries also stood out clearly from the responses: agriculture, forestry and fisheries, municipalities and cities, and the construction industry. Among other industries, the energy and rescue sectors stand out. Many also use the service in their free time, for teaching or studies.
Respondents particularly appreciate Paikkatietoikkuna's ease of use and wide selection of map data that can be viewed on top of each other. Many said that their work is faster when they can conveniently get the information they need from one place. This is especially beneficial for those who need map data in their work, but who do not have in-depth knowledge from the field of geographic information.
Many of those who retrieve data from interface or download services for more detailed analyses into spatial data software also said that they first view the data in Paikkatietoikkuna. The handy browser user interface is quickly available and for most tasks, visually viewing the map data is sufficient.
Examples of answers in which kind of work tasks are you using Paikkatietoikkuna:
"For various studies related to the natural environment, planning, etc. Paikkatietoikkuna also supports cooperation between different organizations."
"I design roads for my work, Paikkatietoikkuna is practically always open and I view everything possible from there. I couldn't really work without it."
"For zoning and architectural planning. I look at terrains and their heights. I take excerpts from zoning reports, etc. The elevation profile is particularly important and a terrain map. Likewise, property boundaries and information, as well as various information related to soil, nature and water."
Versatile map functionality - historical aerial images are important
Respondents considered the most important features of Paikkatietoikkuna to be map layer search and location search, measuring distances and areas, terrain profile tool and viewing historical aerial images. In addition to the National Land Survey of Finland's background maps, the most used data by far are the historical aerial images added to the service in 2021, as they can be used to examine changes in land use, among other things. Property boundaries and codes, slope shade and protected areas are also among the most important data.
We received many development suggestions, some of which were related to refining the features of the service and some to map layers that were desired to be added, including old maps. There were also requests that a working concept not be changed. We will continue to review the feedback and strive to find the users' most important wishes for developing the service.
Examples of answers to our question about which map layers you think are most important in addition to background maps:
"The richness of the data in Paikkatietoikkuna is the strength of the site. I use a lot of different files together and separately, including data from Tukes, GTK, the Finnish Environment Institute, and The Finnish Heritage Agency. I use PTI when exploring a new area before downloading open data to my own computer."
"In my work for The Ministry of the Environment’s Administrative Branch, I have used historical aerial photos, hydrological data, surface water flow models, and the terrain profile tool the most."
"Historical aerial photos are convenient when you can browse them as a timeline, making it easy to see the development curve. Maybe someday we could also find old printed maps like this? Soil and bedrock maps are important, surprisingly few municipalities have these in their map services. Thank you for the great service!"
Paikkatietoikkuna is based on cooperation
Paikkatietoikkuna is Finland's national INSPIRE geoportal. It provides a view of Finnish spatial data and promotes the shared use of spatial data, which is one of the tasks of the National Land Survey of Finland. Paikkatietoikkuna currently brings together nearly 3,000 map layers from the open interface services of about 70 data provider organizations in one place. An agreement is made with all data providers on the map layers to be added.
Paikkatietoikkuna's technical implementation is based on the open source Oskari software. It has several sister services, such as Suomen väylät by Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, Karttapaikka, City of Tampere, Lounaistieto, Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) and Helsinki Region Environmental Services' (HSY) map services. The development of the Oskari software is guided by the Oskari network. In May, it will organize an open network day for everyone.
Final words from the feedback we received from Paikkatietoikkuna:
"Free use of data made with public tax money and money from various organizations. There is nothing better."
"A fast, free and web-based (not just another app) map service with good background maps and lots of interesting public data. So why wouldn't I use Paikkatietoikkuna?! Tax euros well spent!"