# A look at Open Data

## Common GIS data formats:

QGIS can be used to import a variety of formats in PostGIS, including Shapefiles, KML and GeoJSON.

- Shapefile: a popular geospatial vector data format for geographic information system (GIS) software. It is developed and regulated by Esri as a (mostly) open specification for data interoperability among Esri and other GIS software products.
- KML: Keyhole Markup Language is an XML notation for expressing geographic annotation and visualization within Internet-based, two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional Earth browsers.
- GeoJSON: a format for encoding a variety of geographic data structures.

## Open Data Sources

- Ireland's Open Data Portal: https://data.gov.ie/
- Irish Spatial Data Exchange: http://isde.ie
- Census 2016 Open Data: http://census2016.geohive.ie/
- European Data Portal: https://www.europeandataportal.eu
- 2600+ Open Data sources: https://www.opendatasoft.com/a-comprehensive-list-of-all-open-data-portals-around-the-world/

## Interesting datasets:

1. Landslide / Geohazards data, from GSI
2. Railway stations
3. Railway lines
4. Railway road intersections
5. Built up areas
6. Settlements
7. Population
8. Groundwater vulnerability
9. Dublin development plans

## Downloading data:

    # Download the data:
    wget http://spatial.dcenr.gov.ie/GSI_DOWNLOAD/Landslide_Susceptibility_Map_Ireland.zip

    # Unzip the data:
    unzip Landslide_Susceptibility_Map_Ireland.zip

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