paikkatietomalleja

Paikkatietomalli (plural: paikkatietomallit) refers to formal representations of spatial phenomena used in geography, cartography, land administration, and many applied sciences. A paikkatietomalli integrates spatial geometry, topology, and attribute data to describe real‑world objects and their relationships. Core concepts include coordinate reference systems, projection methods, and data models such as vector, raster, and network representations. Vector models encode points, lines, and polygons, providing precise delineation of features; raster models represent information on a regular grid, suitable for continuous data like elevation or land cover; network models capture connectivity, commonly used for transportation or utility systems.

Paikkatietomallit support diverse applications: land use planning, environmental monitoring, disaster management, and navigation. They underpin Geographic Information Systems (GIS), where users manipulate layers, perform spatial analysis, and generate maps. Standards such as the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) specifications (e.g., WFS, WMS, GML) and the ISO 19100 series promote interoperability. Data quality and spatial accuracy are evaluated through measures like positional error, attribute validity, and consistency with known constraints.

Examples of widely used paikkatietomallit include the Global Multi‑Resolution Terrain Elevation Data (GMTED) for digital elevation models, the MODIS land cover products for vegetation classification, and the ESRI Shapefile format for vector data. In the public sector, cadastral systems often employ cadastral plans following the ISO 19125 standard, while municipal GIS platforms may adopt the CityGML standard for 3D urban modeling. Ongoing research explores hybrid models combining topological and semantic information to enhance decision‑making in smart‑city contexts.