Cabinet of the State Minister                                         Paris, 3rd  December 2007

 

PRESS RELEASE

Jean-Louis BORLOO

Inaugurates the new 3D version of the IGN Geoportal

"The portal of territories and citizens”

Wednesday 5th December 2007 at 8:45am

Hotel de Roquelaure - 246 Boulevard Saint-Germain

 

On the 23rd June 2006, the Institute Géographique National (IGN) offered Web Users the whole of France by providing access to aerial photographs and maps on Geoportal.

 

One year later, the V2 Geoportal has changed both direction and meaning. A major and much awaited innovation: 3 dimensional exploration.

 

France is currently the first European country to begin setting up a portal with this type of function to access geographic information.

 

Geoportal currently provides 3D access to 1/25000 map coverage, as well as to all buildings across the national territory (over 15 million objects!). Unique at the scale of a country, this modeling of buildings will be progressively fed with even finer details regarding building faces and roofs in conurbations.

 

This accessibility of geographic information via Geoportal is part of the “ecologic democracy" promoted by the Grenelle environmental conference.

 

Much more than just a mere geographical search engine, it is progressively being recognized as “the portal of territories and citizens", providing all the necessary keys to a better understanding of our environment and its sustainable development.

 

As a federating tool, Geoportal makes it possible to bring together information which was previously disseminated amongst the numerous sites of the different ministries, establishments, public companies and associations. Data issued by the Ina*, CPJ* or SHOM* are already available: Geoportal will be continuously updated as information is provided by new partners.

 

 

*National audiovisual institution

*Parks and Gardens Conservatory

*The marine oceans and hydrographical department

 

Jean-Louis Borloo inaugurates the latest Geoportal innovations

"With Geoportal, France is now equipped with the very first access to three dimensional geographic information. A further demonstration of the unique know-how of the IGN which has always offered "public service".

 

But Geoportal is also the portal of territories and citizens; the portal of transparency and monitoring natural hazards, transport infrastructures. We also have a veritable mapping of the "Grenelle Environmental Conference" of its progress and its worksites. Deep down, Geoportal is the very first barometer of this "monitoring democracy" that we wish to build. Thanks to this, sustainable development is no longer an abstract concept but a visible and tangible reality for millions of Web Users.

 

Geoportal is lastly the fruit of horizontality since it brings together “ecologic” data, “equipment" data and territorial planning data”..; A fantastic tool for the harmonization of professions, traditions and the new missions taken on board by the Ministry of sustainable development.

 

Other partners must now be sought out: all of the Ministries, local authorities and research institutes to turn Geoportal into the encyclopedia of sustainable development in France and, why not one day, in Europe!"

 

Jean-Louis BORLOO