1st International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software - Lugano, Switzerland - June 2002
Keywords
metadata, data collation, urban transportation, air quality
Start Date
1-7-2002 12:00 AM
Abstract
Cities are presently faced with increasing pressure from population and activities leading tocongestion, pollution and degradation of the living environment. In order to assist decision-makers to assessthe changing state of important amenities in a city such as clean air, energy and transport, a metadata-basedsystem for automated data assembly along with a Web-based suite of applications is proposed. This wouldform the basis for identifying the most effective technology and practice requirements in line with changingneeds. Metadata can be defined as structured data, such as access and content details, about data sets.Metadata sets were designed to allow a more efficient use of data from different sources in different places atdifferent times. Metadata based systems can be designed to assemble required data “just in time” for use.This is particularly useful when a broad range of data is required or when the most recent data is needed dueto the current climate of rapid change. Both criteria apply to data for city transportation planning today. Theprocess and proposed system for enabling this technology is described in this paper using a study carried outin Melbourne, Australia of the pollution exposure of city residents due to motor vehicle emissions. Using ametadata system, the most recent data at distributed locations (for instance, weather data maintained bymeteorologists and traffic data by transport engineers) may be sourced more efficiently. This system mustallow interoperability between remote and distributed databases. It should contain an appropriate search filter,for instance checking for the spatial compatibility of data sets. Examples of how spatial compatibility can byanalysed is provided using Prolog. A Web-based application is illustrated which features interactive, seasonalmodels of air-quality.
A Metadata-based System for Urban Transportation Data Provision and Analysis
Cities are presently faced with increasing pressure from population and activities leading tocongestion, pollution and degradation of the living environment. In order to assist decision-makers to assessthe changing state of important amenities in a city such as clean air, energy and transport, a metadata-basedsystem for automated data assembly along with a Web-based suite of applications is proposed. This wouldform the basis for identifying the most effective technology and practice requirements in line with changingneeds. Metadata can be defined as structured data, such as access and content details, about data sets.Metadata sets were designed to allow a more efficient use of data from different sources in different places atdifferent times. Metadata based systems can be designed to assemble required data “just in time” for use.This is particularly useful when a broad range of data is required or when the most recent data is needed dueto the current climate of rapid change. Both criteria apply to data for city transportation planning today. Theprocess and proposed system for enabling this technology is described in this paper using a study carried outin Melbourne, Australia of the pollution exposure of city residents due to motor vehicle emissions. Using ametadata system, the most recent data at distributed locations (for instance, weather data maintained bymeteorologists and traffic data by transport engineers) may be sourced more efficiently. This system mustallow interoperability between remote and distributed databases. It should contain an appropriate search filter,for instance checking for the spatial compatibility of data sets. Examples of how spatial compatibility can byanalysed is provided using Prolog. A Web-based application is illustrated which features interactive, seasonalmodels of air-quality.
