Data Models > GIS for the Nation
GIS for the Nation Data Model
Data Model User Group
Join the data model user group if you are an existing ArcGIS customer and want to learn more about design and architecture of personal or enterprise Geodatabase and become a part of Esri’s growing data model community.
Date Submitted: July 22, 2005
Last Modified: February 11, 2010
Geospatial information technologies offer governments valuable support in providing effective and efficient services for citizens. Federal, state, and local governments invest billions of dollars each year in the collection, management, and maintenance of geospatial data. Successful multi-jurisdictional programs offer successful examples and lessons for those seeking to institute similar efforts. The Geospatial Bluebook begins the process of identifying practices that have served other communities; the intended goal is to offer a set of national implementation specifications for communities that choose to adopt those specifications.
GIS for the Nation means GIS for your neighborhood, your town, your state, and your country. The goal is to build an interoperable system that leverages standards and best practices to develop geospatial data infrastructure. The emphasis is on local data needs and local practices, along with data integration at State/Regional, and ultimately National levels.
More information can be found at the Geospatial One-Stop "GIS for the Nation" Community located at GOS. If you click on the Communities tab you will see GIS for the Nation in the list of Communities on the left hand side of the page.
User Forums
Visit the Esri data model discussion forum to share your ideas, thoughts, and questions with other users.
Downloads - Case Studies
These Case Studies are a good starting point to learn about best practices for this discipline. These project examples include sample geodatabases, map documents, and documentation.
- Geospatial Bluebook template database mdb file (GML available upon request) - zip format, 183 kb (submitted 07/22/2005 - updated 07/24/2005)
- GIS for the Nation Poster pdf of GIS for the Nation poster - zip format, 10342 kb (submitted 07/24/2005)
Downloads - Design Templates
The Design Templates are the result of the community-based design process. The general concepts and terms for this discipline are described here. Tools and examples to create a template data model are also included for advanced users.
- Geospatial Bluebook Template documents vsd, gif, xml, and uml.dtd files - zip format, 7169 kb (submitted 07/22/2005 - updated 07/24/2005)
- Geospatial Bluebook XML Export xml file - zip format, 52 kb (submitted 07/22/2005 - updated 07/24/2005)
- Oct 2006 Update mdb, vsd, xml, txt, and uml.dtd files - zip format, 6621 kb (submitted 10/27/2006)
- May 2007 Update .vsd, .dtd, .xml, .html, .xls, and .txt - zip format, 6627 kb (submitted 05/23/2007 - updated 05/24/2007)
User Community
The "GIS for the Nation" Community is located at GOS, the Geospatial One-Stop. If you click on the Communities tab you will see GIS for the Nation in the list of Communities on the left hand side of the page.
Several links are provided on this site to draft materials. These include data theme specifications with data capture guidelines, case studies, data models and links to other resources.
The FGDC standards can be found at FGDC Standards.
