"Geospatial Data" refers to data files which are designed to be used with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software in order to analyse spatial phenomena and geographic relationships, and produce maps.
"Open Data" is data that is made freely-available. Ideally, you should be able to use the data in any way you wish, but always check the data licence to be sure.
The Integrated Cadastral Information Society of BC (ICI Society) collects and provides access to a variety of BC geospatial data.
The collection includes four cadastral files* for British Columbia, as well as other GIS files. Click on the tabs for a description of each from the ICI Society's Data Catalog.
Access:
Access is limited to authorized Kwantlen faculty, staff and students. Due to licence restrictions, ICI Society files must be downloaded for Kwantlen users by the Data Services librarian. Please email requests to the Data Services Librarian, and allow a week for delivery.
Use:
The ICI Society's data may be used for educational and research purposes only.
*The word 'cadastral' comes from the word 'cadastre', meaning "an official record of the dimensions and value of land parcels, used to record ownership and assist in calculating taxes.”[definition from: ESRI GIS Dictionary].
"The ICIS Cadastre is ICIS’ answer to the challenge of providing a single source parcel layer for its members. The data in this layer includes the best available parcel data from both Provincial and Local Government sources with standardized and uniform attribution. In areas where both Local Government and GeoBC contribute data, the Local Government data prevails.
All ICIS Cadastre data is delivered via GeoShare, ICIS’s automated delivery mechanism, and is refreshed on a weekly basis. The data for each jurisdiction comes from either the local government or GeoBC, and is joined to standardized attribution established by GeoBC to create a uniform cadastre across boundaries and to verify that all registered parcels are included in the fabric." (emphasis added)
"The Integrated Cadastral Fabric is produced by GeoBC’s Parcel Fabric Section on behalf of ICIS. The ICF layer includes many jurisdictions that are maintained on a bi-weekly basis by GeoBC to published attribute and currency standards. In other jurisdictions where the data is not actively maintained by GeoBC, the ICF includes local government parcel shapes with standardized Provincial attribution. An attribute on the fabric distinguishes between parcels that have been maintained by GeoBC and parcels that have been integrated from other ICIS members."
"The Local Government Cadastre (As-Is-Cadastre) is a parcel fabric assembled entirely from local government data. Submissions are provided manually on an ad hoc basis and are not included in the ICIS Cadastre. Whatever datasets have been received within the last 30 days are manually loaded into the Local Government Cadastre once a month. This layer does not contain standardized attribution, although we attempt to reconcile fields with similar content as best as we can. The positional accuracy and attribution varies from local government to local government."
"The BC Assessment Fabric is a geospatial representation of the assessment roll. It contains a record for almost every assessed property in British Columbia. Unlike a legal cadastre fabric, it is an ownership fabric. This means there may be many legal lots represented by one assessed property or folio. Properties that do not have a spatial representation defined by its corresponding local government are occasionally represented using a diamond shape as a placeholder. This is done to assist finding a property’s location, and is usually a precursor to having a property boundary defined. The BC Assessment Fabric represents 99.14% of the assessment roll as of January 2015."
In other words, parcel boundaries are measured differently by BC Assessment than in the other cadastral files. The BC Assessment layer shows ownership as given in the assessment roll rather than legal boundaries. One assessed property may include several legal lots with same owner.
These tools will help you to locate geospatial files for a specific topic or region.
NOTE: These should be used only as finding aids to identify potentially-useful files. Kwantlen users will not be able to access files at other institutions. Check the Kwantlen Library's collection once you've identified a useful file.
