October 2006 

Overview of Draft Street Address Standard

Co-Chairs:Martha Lombard Ed Wells Hilary Spatial Focus, Inc. DC OCTO Jacobs 

Address Standards Working Grou

Sara Yurman Carl AndersonSpatial Focus, Inc. Fulton County, GA
October 2006 

Sponsoring Organizations

 URISA – Submitting organization NENA – Supporting organization U.S. Census Bureau – Sponsoring 

organization, on-going maintenance
October 2006 

Urban & Regional Information Sys

Association

 URISA is a non-profit educational and professional ass Mission: “To promote the effective and ethical use of s

information and information technologies for the undemanagement of urban and regional systems.”

 7,000 national and chapter members in the US and Ca Members from government, private, and academic sec Slightly more than half are state and local government 
October 2006 

National Emergency Number Assoc

 NENA is a professional association of 7,000 members 

chapters dedicated to providing effective and accessibfor North America

 NENA fosters the technological advancement, availabi

implementation of a universal emergency telephone n

 NENA promotes research, planning, training, and educ NENA's objectives include the protection of human life

preservation of property, and the maintenance of genesecurity
October 2006 

Other Organizations Repre Local, regional, and state governm 911/Emergency management asso Federal agencies GIS software vendors and consulta Universities Other standards organizations
October 2006 

Authority

 In April 2005, the Federal Geograp

Committee (FGDC) approved URISproposal to create a street address standard

 The standard is being prepared un

auspices of the FGDC SubcommitteCultural and Demographic Data, chthe Census Bureau 

 If the standard is adopted, the Cen

Bureau will be the maintenance au
October 2006 

Work Plan

 Created four core committees

 Policy and Coordination Data Content and Classification Data Quality Data Exchange

 Worked primarily by collaborative website Teleconferenced as needed Posted two drafts for public comment Presented at Street Smart and URISA Confe Submit to FGDC for formal review and appr
October 2006 

Participant Roles Participants (Core Committees): 

writers/editors/provocateurs for drsections and responding to comme

 Reviewers: review and work with 

committee to create the drafts

 Observers: review drafts and pro

comments or recommendations on of themselves and/or their organiz
October 2006 

Schedule1. Present first draft at Street Smart and Add

Conference (Austin, August 15, 2005) – Co

2. Post to URISA website for review and com

Complete

3. Synthesize comments and revise draft – C4. Present revised draft at the URISA annual 

in Kansas City (October 11, 2005) – Comp

5. Second review period – Complete6. Synthesize comments and revise draft – C7. Submit revised standard to FGDC for full p

review, comment adjudication, and approvstandard – November 2006
October 2006 

The Address Standard 

 Introduction Part 1: Street Address Data Conten Part 2: Street Address Data Classif Part 3: Street Address Data Quality Part 4: Street Address Data Exchan
October 2006 

Introduction Provides background information States the objectives and benefits Defines address States the scope of the standard Outlines the standards developme Identifies the maintenance authori
October 2006 

Street Address Definition A street address specifies a locatio

reference to a thoroughfare, or a lor it specifies a point of postal deli

 Four basic classes of street addres

Thoroughfare addresses Landmark addresses Postal addressesGeneral addresses (can be any of 

three)
October 2006 

Why A Street Address Standard?

 Street addresses are the location identifiers most widely-used 

and local government and the public. 

 Street addresses are critical information for administrative, em

response, research, marketing, mapping, GIS, routing and namany other purposes. 

 Street addresses have evolved over many decades, under the 

thousands of local jurisdictions, in many different record and formats, and to serve many purposes.

 The variety of different address formats and types pose a nu

complex geoprocessing and modeling issues. 

 As a consequence, government agencies struggle with these 

they seek to integrate large, mission-critical files into master repositories. 
October 2006 

Goals

 Create a street address content and classi

standard that provides the foundation for exchange and data quality standards

• Provide a statement of best practices for street 

data content and classification

• Define tests of street address data quality• Facilitate exchange of address information• Offer a migration path from legacy formats to st

compliant ones

• Provide for different levels of standardization• Build on previous FGDC address standard efforts
October 2006 

Objective

 Objective: Create a data standard 

street addresses 

ContentClassificationQualityExchange

One Standard – Four Parts
October 2006 

Part 1: Street Address DatContent Address Elements

Simple – defined independently of 

elements

Complex – formed from two or mo

or complex elements

 Address Attributes

Provide descriptive information ab

address, including geospatial infor
October 2006 

Address Elements

 Address Number  Street Name Occupancy Landmark Name Larger-Area USPS Postal Address USPS Address Lines
October 2006 

Address Number Elements

 Prefix: B317 Main Street Number: 123 Main Street Suffix: 123 1/2 Main Stree Separator: 123-04 Main Street Complete address number: 123 1 Address number range: 405-411 

Street
October 2006 

Street Name Elements Pre-modifier: Old North B Street Pre-directional: North Main Street Pre-type: Avenue A Name: Main Street Post-type: Main Street Post-directional: Main Street North Post-modifier: B Street Extended Complete Street Name: North Main Stree
October 2006 

Occupancy Elements Occupancy Type: Building B, Apartme Occupancy ID: Building B, Apartme Occupancy Element: Building B Complete Occupancy Identifier:

Building B, Apartm
October 2006 

Landmark Name Element Landmark Name

Statue of LibertyGalleria MallWinona Park Elementary SchoolUniversity of Washington

 Complete Landmark Name

Suzallo Library, University of Wash
October 2006 

Larger Area Elements:Place NamePlace Name Elements: Place Name: Ajo, AZ

Pima County, A

 Complete Place Name: Ajo, Pima CountPlace Name Attributes: Place Name Type: Community, Municipal, P

County, Region

 GNIS Feature ID Element Sequence Number
October 2006 

Larger-Area Elements: State, ZIP Codes and Country State: St. Louis, MO ZIP Code: Birmingham, AL 35242 ZIP+4: Birmingham, AL 35242- Country: Ajo, AZ, United States
October 2006 

USPS Postal Address Elem USPS Postal Box Type, Postal Box  USPS Postal Group Type, Postal Gr USPS General Delivery Point PO Box 6943 RR 1, Box 27 CMR 4, Box 2 (overseas military) General Delivery, Tampa, FL 336
October 2006 

USPS Address Lines Complete Feature Address

1 Main Street Suite 204

 Place State Zip

Ajo, AZ 85321
October 2006 

Address Attributes

 Attribute Categories:

Address IDAddress CoordinatesDescriptive AttributesAttributes Describing Specific ElemenSpatial Organization AttributesAddress Lineage Attributes
October 2006 

Address ID 

 Address ID: Unique address identi

assigned by local authority

 Address UUID: Universally unique i

assigned to an address 
October 2006 

Address Coordinates 

 Address X Coordinate Address Y Coordinate Address XY Coordinate Reference System ID Address Latitude Address Longitude Address LatLong Coordinate Reference System  US National Grid Coordinate Address Elevation Address Elevation Coordinate Reference System 
October 2006 

Descriptive Attributes  Address Classification Feature Type Address Lifecycle Status Address Official Status Address Anomaly Status Address Z Level Location Description Related Address ID
October 2006 

Attributes Describing Spec

Elements

 Address Number Parity Address Range Parity Address Range Type Element Sequence Number Place Name Type GNIS Feature ID Complete Feature Address Type
October 2006 

Address Scheme Attributes

 Address Scheme Name Address Scheme Description Address Scheme Origin Address Scheme Axes Address Scheme Extent Address Scheme
October 2006 

Address Lineage Attributes 

 Address Start Date  Address End Date Dataset ID Address Authority
October 2006 

Part 2: Street Address DatClassification Classes Defined by Syntax

Classes defined by their data elements a

order in which they are arranged

 Four Classes

Thoroughfare AddressLandmark AddressPostal AddressGeneral Address
October 2006 

Thoroughfare Classes

A thoroughfare address specifies a location by 

to a thoroughfare.

A thoroughfare in this context is a road or oth

route (for example, a walkway, railroad or 

which the addressed feature can be reache

 Site: 1230A North Main Street Extended Landmark-Site: City Hall, 410 Main Street Intersection: Seventh Street and D Street Two-number Range: 110-126 Main Street Four-number Range (TIGER format):

100-130, 101-135 Main Street

 Unnumbered Thoroughfare: Fagaima Road
October 2006 

Landmark Classes

A landmark address specifies a location by 

to a named landmark.

A landmark is a relatively permanent featu

natural or man-made landscape or seascarecognizable identity within a particular cu

context.

 Landmark Address: Truth Hall, Howa

University, Washington, DC 20059

 Community: 123 Urbanization Los Ol

Ponce, PR 00731
October 2006 

Postal Delivery Classes

A postal delivery address specifies a point o

delivery which has no definite relation to th

of the recipient, such as a post office box, r

box, overseas military address, or general d

office.

 USPS Postal Delivery Box: PO Box 694 USPS Postal Delivery Route: RR 1, Box  USPS General Delivery Office: General 

Tampa FL 33602-9999
October 2006 

General Class Holds addresses of any class:

Complete Feature Address, 

Place, State, ZIP, ZIP+4, Country

 For general mailing and contact lists Supports specialized profiles such as 

Publication 28 standard

 A starting point for parsing and class
October 2006 

Part 3: Street Address DatQuality  Goal: Define quality control for addresses (

principles of spatial quality)

 Existing standards and documents describin

data quality

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Met

(CSDGM)

Topic 11: OpenGIS Metadata (ISO/TC 211 DSupporting ISO Geographic Information sta

• 19113: Quality principles• 19114: Quality evaluation procedures

Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS)

 All the standards describe spatial data quality 

terms
October 2006 

Elements of Quality Dataset Purpose and Use

What is this stuff? 

 Attribute (Thematic) Accuracy 

What do we know about it, and with wh

certainty?

 Logical Consistency 

If (A = B), do A and B both exist? Are thIf A implies B, is B consistent with A?

 Completeness 

Are all the addressable objects within th

jurisdiction addressed? If not, do we kn
October 2006 

Elements of Quality (continued Positional Accuracy

Do we know where it is? Does where we think it is align with anyt

 Lineage

How did it happen? Who did this?

 Temporal Accuracy

How long has it been like that? Are we s
October 2006 

What’s Different About Ad Uncertainty is common, especially as to:

Source, date, and conditions of assignmentCurrent status: lifecycle and officialAgreement with local address schemaGround conditions: posting, street signs, etc.Coordinate location information

 Addresses are interdependent Addresses are typically controlled by one or more 

schemes 

 Schemes have not always been applied systemat Anomalies are expected and must be accommoda
October 2006 

Testing Address Quality

 Tests grouped by Content and Classif

Tests of Address ElementsTests of Address AttributesTests of Address Classes

 Tests described by:

Measure NameMeasure DescriptionReportEvaluation ProcedurePseudocode Example (Pseudo SQ
October 2006 

Address Element Tests

 Tests for Simple Address Elements

Does each value have the correct data tDoes each value conform to its domain 

values? 

Conformance to spatial domain – does t

fall in the correct municipality, ZIP Code 

 Tests for Complex Address Element

Are the component elements assembled 

order?

Does the street name in the address ma

authoritative street name list? 
October 2006 

Address Attribute Tests

 Tests of Address Coordinates

Is each coordinate pair complete?Is the address feature actually at the location in

coordinates?

Do the XY, Lat-Long, and USNG coordinates equ

location?

 Tests of Other Address Attributes

Is every AddressID unique?Is every Address Start Date <= its End Date?Do the Address Start and End Dates conflict wit

Official Status?

If the address status is “official”, does the addre

Address Authority?

Has every Location Description been field-check
October 2006 

Address Class Tests

 General Tests for Address Classes

Completeness: Does every addressable feature have an addresIn each class, is every address unique?

 Address Range and Situs Address Tests

Does every address range have a non-zero low and high valueIs every address range low value <= its high value?Do any ranges with the same complete street name (and parity

overlap?

Are address ranges in the correct sequence along a thoroughfaDo address numbers increase with distance from the origin poi

address schema?

Do the low and high numbers for each block-face range have tAre the even and odd numbers in each block-face range on the 

or left) side of the thoroughfare?

Does every intersection address name a pair of thoroughfares 

intersect?

Does every situs address align spatially with the range that con
October 2006 

Test Example
October 2006 

Spatial (SFSQL) Test Examp
October 2006 

Spatial (SFSQL) Test Examp
October 2006 

Part 4: Street Address DatExchange

Two basic forms: 

o Monolithic or Complete o Transactional or Incremental 

The address data exchange standard s

both types using slightly different struc

Required Elements:o Address Data o Metadata 
October 2006 

Exchange (continued)

Destination D

Local Dataset

Import

Engine

Export

Engine

XML

Exchange 

Data and

Metadata

XML

Exchange 

Data and

Metadata
October 2006 

Reasons for XMLBusiness reasons for using XML as the exc

data language:

 FGDC standards require its use XML protects content producers and con

consumers from changing data

Field order is unimportantMissing fields don't prevent exchangesExtra fields don't prevent exchanges

 XML is extensible
October 2006 

Sample Detail of Current 

Address Model
October 2006 

Preparing to Exchange Da1) Undo localizations of data (normalize 2) Reparse data into one of the addres3) Express data in the XML format of th4) Prepare metadata describing the dat

exchanged
October 2006 

125 | E 11th | St | Austin | TX | 78701

reparse local data into normal form

125 | East | 11th | Street | Austin | TX | 78701

express data in XML

<SiteAddress>

<CompleteAddressNumber> <AddressNumber>125</AddressNumber> </CompleteAddressNumbe

<CompleteStreetName> <StreetNamePreDirectional>East</StreetNamePreDirectional>

<StreetName>11th</StreetName><StreetNamePostType>Street</StreetNamePostType></Compl

<ZipCode>78701</ZipCode>

<PlaceName>

<USPSPlaceName>Austin</USPSPlaceName>

</PlaceName><StateName>TX</StateName>

<AddressAttributes>

<AddressAuthority>Austin Texas</AddressAuthority>”

</AddressAttributes>

</SiteAddress>

Preparing Data (sample)
October 2006 

<SiteAddress action=”delete”>

<CompleteAddressNumber> <AddressNumber>125</AddressNumber> </CompleteAddressNumber

<CompleteStreetName> <StreetNamePreDirectional>East</StreetNamePreDirectional>

<StreetName>11th</StreetName><StreetNamePostType>Street</StreetNamePostType></Comple

<ZipCode>78701</ZipCode>

<PlaceName>

<USPSPlaceName>Austin</USPSPlaceName>

</PlaceName><StateName>TX</StateName>

<AddressAttributes>

<AddressAuthority>Austin Texas</AddressAuthority>”

</AddressAttributes>

</SiteAddress><SiteAddress action=”add”>>

<CompleteAddressNumber> <AddressNumber>125</AddressNumber> </CompleteAddressNumber

<CompleteStreetName> <StreetNamePreDirectional>East</StreetNamePreDirectional>

<StreetName>11th</StreetName><StreetNamePostType>Street</StreetNamePostType></Comple

<ZipCode>78702</ZipCode>

<PlaceName>

<USPSPlaceName>Austin</USPSPlaceName>

</PlaceName><StateName>TX</StateName>

<AddressAttributes>

<AddressAuthority>Austin Texas</AddressAuthority>”

</AddressAttributes>

</SiteAddress>

Transactional Data (sampl
October 2006 

Next Steps1. Synthesize comments – September 2002. Review by FGDC Standards Working Gr

November 2006

3. (If approved) Full public review (90 day4. Comment adjudication5. Review by FGDC Standards Working Gr6. (If approved) Review by FGDC Coordin

Committee

7. (If approved) Review by FGDC Steering 

Committee

8. (If approved) Final adoption