Common Spatial Data Infrastructure: Hong Kong's next infrastructure transformation
As Asia’s World City, Hong Kong has always been at the forefront of technological advancements and its world class infrastructure continues to attract businesses and investors across various sectors
from around the globe. However, in an increasingly digitalized world, the need for digital governance frameworks and regulations has become a vital consideration.
The importance of this can be seen in the development of the Common Spatial Data Infrastructure (CSDI), which was launched in December 2022 with support from the Hong Kong SAR Government, providing a map-based, digital infrastructure platform to open and share spatial data with the public.
The establishment of CSDI provides the government and society as whole with convenient, easily accessible, high quality and up-to- date spatial data, applications and spatially-enabled services. The government is now spearheading efforts to leverage the advantages of the CDSI data, centralized in a one-stop portal, enabling users to access information when developing various types of Geographic Information System (GIS) applications that support smart city development.
The key questions at this stage, however, are whether the released datasets will be the ones that are most in demand and how the government will manage an expansion of the initiative beyond solely government-provided datasets.
For example, datasets owned by the private sector, such as utilities, are in high demand by construction professionals. The use of such data for infrastructure projects allows them to save valuable time and costs as they can obtain preliminary information without the need to approach individual utility companies.
To integrate this data, the key to success will be how the government encourages various stakeholders to share information, so as to increase efficiency and fully utilize the intuitive platform, but without affecting critical issues, such as commercial interests and privacy concerns.
Highlighting the benefits of digital governance
Strong governance will be vital in responding to this challenge. To this end, various government bureaus and departments currently collecting, providing or using spatial data are collaborating to develop data standards and prepare spatial data for wider sharing.
For instance, the government is continuing in its efforts to align all the Framework Spatial Data Themes with the international geospatial standards set by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GIM).
We already see how in Deqing, China, the United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre has adopted the international geospatial standards set up by the UN-GGIM. Hong Kong should integrate with the data hubs in Mainland China, especially the Greater Bay Area, by using the same standards for enabling cross-boundary data sharing to support the city’s infrastructure development.
Importantly, the development of digital governance frameworks and regulations will contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and compliance with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) values via sustainable efforts. By aligning with the SDGs and ESG values, Hong Kong can contribute to the global effort to achieve sustainable development in areas such as energy efficiency, carbon reduction and social well-being via environmental monitoring and prediction, management excellence and governance efficiency.
The development of digital governance frameworks and regulations of spatial data will also play a role in boosting the economy, helping create new businesses, improving existing businesses, and attracting investment. For example, spatial data can be used to identify areas where new businesses are needed, to optimize supply chains, and to improve customer experiences. Such initiatives will help transform our home into a spatially-enabled smart city.
Charting the way forward for Smart Hong Kong
The development of digital governance frameworks and regulations is accelerating Hong Kong's infrastructure and technology development. The development of spatial data for the CSDI, unlocking the potential of spatial data for smart city development, and the achievement of UN SDGs and ESG values are all areas where digital governance frameworks and regulations have had a significant impact.
The government should continue to develop and implement digital governance frameworks and regulations and move towards the full implementation of 3D spatial data to cover underground structures together with 3D cadastre, both above and below ground.
With the upcoming development of the Northern Metropolis, the government should take the opportunity to take the lead and create a complete digital twin for the development area, aligning this with the Hong Kong 3D Digital Map project, which is happening in parallel. Together, these initiatives will form the foundation to support the development of Smart Hong Kong for effective and sustainable development and city management