Pete Masters highlightes role of open geodata in urban development

Open geospatial data is becoming an important part of cities' digital infrastructure and helps improve the quality of urban planning, stated Pete Masters, a representative of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, at the event "Transformation of Informal Settlements" held within the framework of WUF13.

"Open geodata is an important public resource, as it can be freely used by various organizations to create new digital solutions and services," he said.

According to Masters, the growing demand for such data contributes to improving its quality and relevance, as cities, companies, and international organizations regularly update and supplement information databases.

He noted that investments in open data demonstrate high economic returns, as every dollar invested in the development of data systems can yield a multiplied effect through the reuse of information.

"Local communities, civic initiatives, and universities play an important role in creating such data, as they produce high-quality and up-to-date cartographic datasets at significantly lower costs compared to commercial solutions," he added.