BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//pretalx//talks.osgeo.org//foss4g-europe-2026//speaker//PCNKN9 BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:EET BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20001029T050000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=-1SU;BYMONTH=10 TZNAME:EET TZOFFSETFROM:+0300 TZOFFSETTO:+0200 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20000326T040000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=-1SU;BYMONTH=3 TZNAME:EEST TZOFFSETFROM:+0200 TZOFFSETTO:+0300 END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT UID:pretalx-foss4g-europe-2026-UGKGSH@talks.osgeo.org DTSTART;TZID=EET:20260630T124000 DTEND;TZID=EET:20260630T124500 DESCRIPTION:The integration of WebGIS platforms into energy planning proces ses and territorial governance has become a widely recognized approach at the international level\, owing to the ability of these tools to support c omplex analyses and strategic decision‑making in the fields of sustainab le development. In this context\, spatial analyses are increasingly requir ed to assess renewable energy potentials\, evaluate land‑use and environ mental constraints\, support multi‑energy system modelling and inform st rategic decision‑making. By enhancing data sharing\, accessibility and a ctive engagement of multiple stakeholders\, WebGIS platforms significantly broaden the opportunities for collaborative planning. The distinctive fea tures of these tools - namely spatial and temporal analytical capabilities \, management of large volumes of heterogeneous data and interactive visua lization - make them particularly well suited to supporting complex and mu ltidisciplinary decision‑making processes\, such as those characterizing the governance of the decarbonization process across different administra tive levels. \n\nOver the past decade\, RSE has developed and maintained a broad ecosystem of WebGIS tools and processing services to support energy planning processes in Italy [1]. This ecosystem includes several thematic atlases dedicated to renewable energy resources\, as well as an integrate d national energy atlas to assess energy sources integration in the territ ory and a centralized geospatial database collecting datasets at multiple spatial and temporal resolutions. These platforms have been designed follo wing open data principles and are freely accessible online\, primarily rel ying on free and open-source software geospatial components and standards. Access to data is currently provided through web-based visualization inte rfaces\, standard OGC services\, and\, where possible\, data downloads in common GIS formats. \n\nWhile this approach has proven effective in suppor ting data dissemination and exploratory spatial analysis\, it increasingly shows limitations in responding to evolving user needs. In particular\, p ublic administrations\, researchers and technical users are progressively moving beyond map-centric usage patterns\, requiring more flexible\, progr ammatic and automated access to geospatial energy-related data. Users ofte n need to integrate datasets from multiple sources into custom workflows\, advanced modelling environments\, dashboards or decision-support systems. \n\nFrom a technical perspective\, the current architecture is character ized by a strong emphasis on visualization and bulk data access\, which li mits the effective reuse of open geospatial data in more advanced and auto mated contexts. While users can explore datasets through WebGIS interfaces and\, in some cases\, download them\, more targeted operations\, such as obtaining the value of a dataset at a specific location\, computing an agg regate over an area of interest (AOI) or extracting a time series\, are no t directly supported as machine-accessible services. At the same time\, da ta extraction is currently implemented through multiple heterogeneous port als and ad hoc services\, each with its own interaction model. Users may b e required to browse large catalogs\, generate scripts for local execution or submit requests that are processed asynchronously through separate sys tems. As a result\, even simple analytical needs often require downloading entire datasets and performing local processing\, which disrupts automate d and reproducible workflows\, while fragmentation across ad-hoc data extr action services leads to inconsistent user experiences\, duplicated logic and greater access complexity. Thus\, traditional WebGIS interfaces and vi ew-oriented services alone are no longer sufficient. \n\nOvercoming these limitations requires a rethinking of the existing infrastructure\, shiftin g from a model centered on visualization and bulk downloads to one based o n programmatic\, query‑driven access [2]. \n\nThis contribution presents the conceptual design and early implementation of a centralized and modul ar REST API intended to act as a unified access layer across the entire RS E geospatial data ecosystem. The API is designed to decouple data access a nd analytical capabilities from specific user interfaces\, enabling consis tent and programmatic interaction with geospatial datasets and services. \ n\nThe proposed API addresses the previously detailed limitations by intro ducing a unified\, query-driven access layer that complements existing Web GIS interfaces. Users can issue parameterized requests to retrieve only th e specific information they need\, including point-based queries\, nearest -feature searches\, spatial aggregations\, time series extraction and filt ered data subsets. These requests can be executed both interactively and p rogrammatically\, enabling direct integration into automated workflows\, m odelling pipelines and external applications. \n\nIn addition\, the API ex tends the capabilities of WebGIS clients beyond standard OGC-based interac tions. While WMS and GetFeatureInfo remain available for visualization and basic inspection\, the API enables richer server-side operations triggere d by user interactions\, returning structured results suitable for advance d visualizations such as charts\, indicators and dynamic summaries. \n\nA further key aspect is the integration of existing domain-specific tools an d processing services. Currently exposed as standalone web applications or custom WebGIS components\, these tools are preserved and made accessible through the API as part of a consistent access model. In this configuratio n\, the API acts as an orchestration layer\, routing requests to the appro priate internal service\, harmonizing inputs and outputs and enforcing com mon policies for authentication\, authorization\, and usage control. \n\nO verall\, the API would establish a single\, consistent entry point for que rying\, extracting and processing geospatial data\, shifting the ecosystem to a more flexible\, query-driven model. This transition would significan tly improve the accessibility\, usability\, and interoperability of open g eospatial data\, enabling more efficient\, reproducible and scalable appli cations across a wide range of use cases. Moreover\, by serving as a unifi ed access layer\, the API acts as an encapsulation boundary: it hides inte rnal changes to data structures\, storage systems\, or processing workflow s behind a stable interface\, so client applications can remain unaffected as the system evolves. \n\nWithin the FOSS4G context\, the proposed archi tecture demonstrates how mature open-source geospatial components can be e nhanced with modern API-driven paradigms to support more dynamic and inter operable data ecosystems. In the specific case of the RSE tool ecosystem\, this approach enables the incremental evolution of existing infrastructur es\, preserving consolidated tools while improving data accessibility\, co herence and interoperability both among datasets and with external informa tion systems. Overall\, it represents a practical and transferable example of how open geospatial platforms can increase the value and usability of information assets without requiring disruptive redesigns. DTSTAMP:20260605T010510Z LOCATION:A01 SUMMARY:Towards a modular and open API for interoperable energy WebGIS plat forms - Matteo Gobbi Frattini URL:https://talks.osgeo.org/foss4g-europe-2026/talk/UGKGSH/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR