JANUAR 2006

REAL ESTATE GEO CENTER MARIBOR

Staško VEŠLIGAJ, Municipality of Maribor Matjaž GRILC, Digi data d.o.o., Ljubljana Andrej MESNER, IGEA d.o.o., Ljubljana

ABSTRACT The Municipality of Maribor has been paying full attention to organized, collecting and maintenance of spatial data, as being a modern municipality it is aware of a fact, that only collecting certain spatial data is not a priority task anymore. It is time to make one step forward – from collecting to the accessibility and functionality of spatial data for a broader public. In order to minimize the effort regarding real estate activities of citizens, other municipalities in the region and small businesses, municipality of Maribor have established real estate GEO center in Maribor. This center enables the simple access to spatial records, the implementation of spatial analyses, providing consulting and on the data usage, and the popularization of spatial data. e-geocenter.com will represent:

- regional geoinformation centre - full support to spatial and real estate activities - integral system of information of potential building lands and other spatially-planned

categories - international (www) integral system of supply and demand of real estate capacities in

the region -

The way of operating e-geocenter.com are: - e-geocenter.com - WEB PORTAL – for acquiring basic information about real estates - e-geocenter.com – INFO POINT – for distribution of basic data and printouts on a

particular real estate - e-geocenter.com – WEB GIS APPLICATION – for on line distribution of available

spatial data (www.e-geocenter.com). Web portal and web GIS application are bilingual – Slovene and English.

- e-geocenter.com – the project of the Municipality of Maribor is a project of the future and should therefore be followed by other regions.

e-geocenter.com - BEGINNING City of Maribor is European city and the real regional centre of Podravje region which connects different interests. This fact was proven by Maribor also with the successful execution of European PHARE project of crossborder cooperation between Slovenia and Austria in the framework of donation scheme »Cross Border Region goes Digital«. Parallel to intensive development, Maribor as modern regional centre paid in the past a lot of attention to collecting and managing spatial data in an organized way. More than a decade ago Maribor established its own GIS department which systematically executed spatial and real-estate activities for the needs of city of Maribor and also for the surrounding municipalities which are part of Podravje region. In this past period immense amount of data was collected which were available only to employees of Municipality of Maribor. Present European trends are different. Data need to be brought closer to all potential users and spatial and real estate system must be made transparent and up-to-date. It was time to make a step forward which meant in the case of city of Maribor establishment of real estate GEO centre which today enables other municipalities in the region, citizens, SME’s and businesses from both sides of the border insight into data, information gaining and performing spatial analysis, counselling and engineering of real-estate services. e-geocenter.com was established, first centre of this kind in Slovenia. e-geocenter represents the beginning of realization of a business-oriented database of cross boarder region spatial data intended for a development of cross boarder structures and for an improvement of economic competitive abilities of cross boarder economic region. Municipality of Maribor and Public Firm for Management of Building Sites are being the part of this project. e-geocenter.com - VISION The geo-center’s vision is to provide the different users the prompt and thorough real estate and spatial information. The following aims were decided e-geocenter.com will represent:

- Regional geoinformation centre - Full support to spatial and real estate activities of the Municipality of Maribor - Support to and connecting of spatial and real estate activities implemented by

services of municipality and public enterprises - Integral system of information of potential building lands and other spatially-planned

categories – being a support to cross boarder small business - International (WWW) integral system of supply and demand of real estate capacities

in the region - System of informational and service support in making decisions on investing

e-geocenter.com – OPERATING CONCEPTS Operating concepts are important mostly as long-term operating rules of e-geocentre. They mean concrete directions and instructions to e-geocenter

management for forming e-geocenter organisational structure, management systems, etc. Basic concepts of e-geocenter operation are: - Market development (we do not interfere with market segments of existent companies)

o e-geocenter is not present as competition to existent business units which operate in this branch but primarily reaches on new markets and offers new services.

- Innovativeness

o Innovativeness is a concept which is necessary needed to successfully follow the first concept which is market development.

- Project work method

o Even though e-geocenter executes a lot of permanent activities (those which represent the basis of its operations), new key services or products will be executed in a project way.

- Integrator - manager of spatial activities

o Managerial function is the one which will represent the core of e-geocenter operations. With this function we will merge different activities which are already functioning and will function in the field of e-geocenter operations. All activities will be in this way uniformly managed with the goal to maximize results.

- Cooperation with local actors – development of an agreement for joint work

o e-geocenter does not represent the competition (except in smaller segments) to the existent actors in its field of operations

o for the project execution it engages local partners

- Partnership between businesses which operate in public and private sphere. - Employment of experts and managers exclusively - Spreading of good practice to other regions

o e-geocenter is set in a way that it will be possible to, properly adjusted, transfer also to other geographical environments.

- Crossborder cooperation

o e-geocenter operations are focused into partnership with regions also outside Slovenia, as well as with Austrian Styria and Carinthia, as with neighbouring Croatia. In the framework of development of this concept the possibility of opening e-geocenter in Austrian Graz, with cooperation of Austrian partner, stays open.

e-geocenter.com – WAY OF OPERATING Web portal e-geocenter.com, info point e-geocenter.com and info centre e-geocenter.com are three basic stages for operating of e-geocenter. e-geocenter will be operating by degrees depending on the extent and the complexity of the information an interested citizen or an entrepreneur from either side of the boarder needs about a certain real estate – a building or land. The stages of providing information in e-geocenter system are as follows:

- e-geocenter.com web portal – for acquiring basic information about real estates (available for free)

- e-geocenter.com info point – for distribution of basic data and printouts on a particular real estate (only basic material costs will be charged)

- e-geocenter.com info centre – to carry out thorough spatial analyses and rather complex queries, mediate real estate matters (acquire certain certificates…) and printouts of spatial data (chargeable)

Information on web portal e-geocenter.com will be available to the user promptly due it ensures reliable information on the basis of the direct connection to the spatial database for the Drava region. Additional explanation for a particular real estate will be possible during the e-geocenter office hours, whereas it will take some time for the results of personally ordered analyses to become available. The development of e-geocenter.com or Real estate geocenter will be functioning as support to small businesses, local geodetic services and citizens, as infrastructure for implementation of project in the state level and as the support to Municipality of Maribor and other involved municipalities in the Drava region. Its mission is to assure the full support to local communities at improving their missions and the quality of lifestyle of its citizens, assuring effective spatial and real estate management, increasing the level of competition of the region in the Europe and public awareness. e-geocenter.com – WEB GEO PORTAL The web GEO portal is the entry point of system e-geocenter.com- Portal is a point where users first meet e-geocenter and where they get basic real estate info. Portal is designed for users from either side of the boarder (Slovenia and Austria). For this purpose, the portal is bilingual (Slovene and English). The web portal’s e-geocenter.com basics are:

- presentation of the e-geocenter

- important information to the user - real estate information - useful links - graphic viewer (WEB GIS application)

Picture 1: Entry point of e-geocenter.com GEO portal e-geocenter.com – WEB GIS APPLICATION WEB GIS geocenter application (www.e-geocenter.com) is modernly designed bilingual application (Slovene and English version) for insight into spatial and real-estate data. Its added value is mostly in implemented solution for execution of standard spatial and real-estate analysis and designed extracts which are directly usable as information in some administrative procedures. The WEB GIS application e-geocenter.com are:

- graphic viewer - distribution of data (ordering the data and further analyses, creating reports,

distribution of results - real estate data entry (for purposes of real estate agencies only)

The WEB GIS application’s aim is to provide the user from either side of the boarder with basic data about a particular real estate, and to inform him/her where and how to obtain more thorough data or order extensive spatial analysis. Data model above which the web application works is based on data core URBAN which was developed by city of Maribor in the past and means the foundation to all applicative solution for support to cities regular work. It contains following real-estate and spatial data from public (state) registers or registers in ownership of cooperating municipalities. Some data layers (mostly from the field of public infrastructure), are at the time in certain municipalities still in phase of formation. That is why data are in some places still incomplete. DATA MODEL Cartographic Templates

- Review Map 500 Layer shows Review Map in scale 1:500 000. - Review Map 250 Layer shows Review Map in scale 1:250 000. On this Map we have

roads and Cities. - Topographic Map 50 Layer shows Topographic Map in scale 1:50 000. - Topographic Map 25 Layer shows Topographic Map in scale 1:25 000. - Topographical Map 5/10 Layer shows Topographical Map in scale 1:5000 or. 1:10000. - Digital Ortofoto 5 Layer shows Digital Ortofoto in scale 1:5000. - Digital Ortofoto 5 Colour Layer shows Digital Ortofoto in scale 1:5000 in colour. - Digital Ortofoto 1 Colour Layer shows Digital Ortofoto in scale 1:1000 in colour.

Register of Spatial Units - Administration Units Layer shows the borders of Administration Units - Communities Layer shows the borders of Communities - Districts Layer shows the borders of Districts - House Numbers Layer shows House Numbers.

Register Of Geographical Units

- Register and Evidence of Geographical Names 5 Layer shows Register and Evidence of Geographical Names in scale 1:5000

Land Cadastre

- Cadastre Parcel Parts Layer shows the borders of Parcel Parts. - Parcels Layer shows the borders of Parcels. - Parcel Numbers Layer shows the Parcel Numbers. - Structures Layer shows Shapes of the Structures. - Local Geodetic Administration Layer shows the borders of Local Geodetic

Administration Teren

- Digital Terrain Model Layer shows Digital Terrain Model

Managing Environment

- Land Using from Community Spatial Plans Layer shows Land Using from Community Spatial Plans.

- Protective Area for Preservating Nature from Community Spatial Plans Layer - Protective Area for Research of Mineral Substances from Community Spatial Plans

Layer - Protective Water Area for from Community Spatial Plans Layer - Protective Area for Preservating Cultural Heritage from Community Spatial Plans

Layer - Protective Area for Preservating Forest from Community Spatial Plans Layer - Protective Zones from Community Spatial Plans Layer - Legal Rights of Preemption for Community Layer - Regions of Realizations of Spatial Plans Layer - Protective area of best Locations of Agricultural Land from Community Spatial Plans

Layer - Real Land Using Layer

Public Infrastructure - Roads Layer - Railways Layer - Airports Layer - Gas Supply Layer - Water Supply Layer - Warm Supply Layer - Sewage System Layer - Dumping Ground Layer

Picture 2: web GIS application; representation of land cadastre with data on parcel in Šentilj area

Picture 3: web GIS application; representation of the Municipality of Maribor’s public infrastructure

Picture 4: web GIS application; representation of water-protected zones in the area of Slovenska Bistrica e-geocenter.com – INFO POINT and INFO CENTRE The e-geocenter’s info point is an info office where it is possible to obtain thorough information about a particular real estate (only basic material costs will be charged) and where user can obtain an expert rather complex spatial analyses for particular case (chargeable). Users are able to acquire basic real estate information through the web portal. A view into every data from available sources is not enabled due to a general access. User can acquire thorough information about particular real estate in the info office – in the info point of e-geocenter.com. Here users can acquire thorough information for a specific case upon payment. The typical product for citizens called real estate information.

The spheres of activities of e-geocenter are mostly covered by the sphere of work in the Municipality of Maribor performed by Public Firm for Management of Building Sites as being the project partner of e-geocenter.com. This partnership has specific meaning for e-geocenter.com due it is not under influence of capital interests and daily politics. e-geocenter.com – TOWARDS to e-geocenter There are enormous quantities of collected digital spatial data in Slovenia, but unfortunately, they are not used in everyday life because we can not use them or we do not know how to use them in functional respect. Our decision making about real estate is very much narrowed due we do not know all spatial and other data that are connected to particular real estate. e-geocenter.com in Maribor means one big step forward towards making decisions on investing, which was not systematically supported until now. Collected real estate records that reflects regular circumstances and are simple and general accessible, will play even more vital role in the future, since they will be a basis for many actions planned by the state. At the same time, they will ensure the owners of the real estates safe and clear managing with the real estate. After 6 month of operation e-geocenter.com already shows first positive results. Users already got used to the system and already demand modernisation of user interface of WEB GIS application and more frequent data base updates (land cadastre and building cadastre). This is the best proof that the project was needed and that to some users the use of spatial

and real-estate data of e-geocenter already means part of everyday routine and the help with their work processes. Ambitions of e-geocenter Maribor do not stop at this point. Already when the project was applied to PHARE call we were aware that Slovenia needs a network of such geocenters also in other regions. Successful case of the first one in the network –e-geocenter Maribor is the incentive for the continuation of activities. State of Slovenia needs this kind of network mostly for execution of big infrastructural projects which are in the area of space and real-estates in the time of transition continuously executed. But we have to be aware that this kind of geocenter network is not limited to the state territory. In year 2005 agreements of different cities in Europe were going on to carry out the project in the CADSES framework in which examples of good practice of this kind of geocenters would be used for the establishment of all-European network of geocenters which would be possible to connect among each other. City of Maribor actively cooperated in the project and was prepared to share all experiences and solution which could help with the realisation of this idea. Project unfortunately has not passed to next phase – realisation phase but the idea is still alive and all people cooperating still believe in its realisation. In this article we described e-geocenter – center of spatial information Maribor. We can say that active talks about establishment of similar centers are going on in Celje and Koper. 80 % of man’s decisions are based on spatial information. Spatial information and their use already surpassed territorial borders long time ago when geographic information systems appeared. So, after Celje and Koper, the Belgrade could be next stop. Why not ...