SLA launches One Historical Map Application

 

2.         The app offers users a convenient way to compare modern Singapore streetscapes to those of yesteryears. Users can also contribute to the geographical history of Singapore by geo-tagging their personal collection of past and present photographs of Singapore and sharing them with the public. Developed by a team of geospatial application specialists within SLA, the One Historical Map app traces the momentous changes to the Singapore landscape over a span of 50 years since our independence.


3.         SLA provided five editions of geo-referenced post-independence Singapore street maps and more than 300 pre-loaded geo-tagged photographs on the app. The five map APIs will be made available for use by the public as a base map. NHB curated about 200 photographs from their archive while the remaining 100 photographs were contributed by our supporters and fellow geo-historical enthusiasts. Through the One Historical Map visuals, SLA hopes to raise awareness to and educate the public, especially the younger generation, about the changes in their neighbourhoods and the country.


4.         SLA Chief Executive, Tan Boon Khai said: “We have created a geo-historical platform by integrating maps and technology and we strongly encourage users to contribute to the One Historical Map app by geo-tagging their personal photos of places and buildings of Singapore. We hope the app could spark interest among the net-savvy and encourage more inter-generational conversation on our shared history and heritage. Going forward, we will explore collaborating with other agencies to include more heritage and historical subjects to expand the functionality and content of the One Historical Map.”


5.         NHB’s Deputy Director, Impact & Assessment, Yeo Kirk Siang said: “When SLA approached NHB to collaborate on this project, we immediately said yes as we thought it would be a fun and engaging way to reach out to audiences who otherwise might not usually be interested in heritage. Photographs and stories are an easy, accessible way for people to appreciate history. We hope more Singaporeans will contribute their precious photographs so that we may have a valuable repository of memories available to everyone.”


6.         This year, SLA has incorporated the One Historical Map app as one of the challenge statements in GeoHackathon 2015. The challenge statement requires contestants to use GIST (Geospatial Information Science and Technology) to explore the changes that have happened in Singapore over the years and to map the stories in their neighbourhood. In its second year, the GeoHackathon taps on the collective energy of the community to solve real-world problems, based on the event theme, Enriching Lives Using GIST.


7.         For the next phase of the One Historical Map app, SLA will continue to incorporate user feedback and improve the One Historical Map app.

 


 Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board with the Ministry of Law. Its mission is to optimise land resources for the social and economic development of Singapore. SLA manages some 12,000 hectares of State land and about 5,000 State buildings, which have largely been tenanted out for a variety of uses. It also manages land sales, leases, acquisitions and allocation, developing and marketing land-related information, and maintaining the national land information database through digitised land information services. Being the national land registration authority for property transactions, SLA issues and guarantees land titles in Singapore. It also manages and maintains the national land survey system, where boundaries or legal limits of properties are defined, based on a coordinated cadastre survey system. The use of geospatial information is also spearheaded by SLA through a national collaborative environment where geospatial data, policies and technologies are established and defined, thereby fostering innovation, knowledge and value creation for the Government, enterprises and community.



For more details, visit www.sla.gov.sg or find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SingaporeLandAuthority.