More than 30 years of collaboration on the map services of Harjavalta

More than 30 years of collaboration on the map services of Harjavalta

The Town of Harjavalta and Sweco began their cooperation back in the early 1990s, leading to the creation of the Town’s first browser-based map service at the turn of the millennium. As the latest overhaul, the service was transferred onto a new server and its mobile usability was improved.

The Town of Harjavalta began its cooperation with Airix, currently part of Sweco, back in 1992 and introduced its first browser-based map service at the turn of the millennium. City, master and detailed plans were added to the service in 2004. Thanks to positive experiences, switching to another map service has not even occurred to Town Geodesist Jari Prehti. “The product has all the features that we need, and we are always provided with help and training quickly and without issues.”

Map service providing municipality residents with valuable information

The map service features information valued by the municipality residents and the Town authorities alike, and the overall service is under constant development. “At first, the guide map was an important help in just navigating the town,” Prehti explains. “Today, the most important feature of the map service is the municipality’s public services, such as properties on sale and plans regarding future land use.”

The map service shows items such as the Town’s health care services and recreation areas, as well as the operating areas of municipal water management. “By logging in, municipality authorities can also see the land areas and properties owned by the municipality, as well as a utility map,” explains Design Manager Jouko Pääkkölä from Sweco.

Overhauled map service on mobile devices

In 2021, the map service of Harjavalta was transferred onto a new server among its first clients. This also gave Prehti and other representatives of the Town of Harjavalta an opportunity to state what kind of changes they would like to see implemented, which provided the experts of Sweco with valuable tips for developing the map service.

“Our suggestions were taken into account really well, and e.g. the new service features more map levels than before,” Prehti comments. The map service can now be used on mobile devices as well.

One of the objectives of the server change was to reduce the amount of manual labour required in the processing of background materials and increase automation. As a result, more information can be updated and added to the service from different sources automatically via interfaces. Such information includes the materials of the Finnish Environment Institute and the terrain database of the National Land Survey of Finland.

The automation is visible to the users of the map service as well. The Town’s authorities are also able to update the information featured in the service independently. “For example, we can add pictures and other characteristics to properties on sale without having to have the changes made by the administration,” Prehti says.

Harjavalta already has plenty of expertise and know-how related to map services. “That makes the development of map services and all kinds of cooperation easier,” comments a pleased Pääkkölä.

At the moment, the basic features of the map service of Harjavalta are up and running, and development work on the service focuses on adjusting the features related to digital plans. “They enable users of the map service to access more and more detailed property information, such as the surface areas of properties,” Pääkkölä says. Plan provisions will also be seen in all blocks in the near future. “We will continue to aim to react to customers’ change and development needs on short notice, just like before.”