ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief background on the history of the United States National Spatial Data Infrastructure (U.S. NSDI), including the institutional and political climate within which it has developed and progressed to date. There is an increasing level of awareness about the NSDI within the U.S. geospatial data community, but exactly what progress has been made in promoting data sharing is difficult to measure. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent the perspective of any past or current employer.
