Public Participatory Geographic Information Systems
= PPGIS, concept and forum
Citation
Good PGIS practice should ensure that spatial knowledge located on a map is not separated from the wisdom (moral, ethical and cultural values) which is attached to it." Nigel Crawhall, 2007 [1]
Concept
The material below is taken from http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue12_2/tulloch/
The umbrella term includes:
- community mapping,
- Participatory GIS (PGIS),
- Public Participation GIS (PPGIS),
- Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI).
Applications
- the use of GIS to translate local knowledge into more conventional spatial representations or to create collective representations of attitudes towards places within the community’s landscape
- focus on the empowerment of the individual, or developed by groups with a clear eye to shifting power in their favor
- two divergent sources of data, with some users collecting or creating their own spatial data while others rely heavily on publicly accessible government data (see Open Data )
Examples
- a Web site based in the relatively affluent area of Montclair, New Jersey (http://www.baristanetnj.com/) maps out “tear downs” which are older homes being razed for replacement. The implied intent of this is to actively raise awareness of the spatial pattern (particularly the density) of tear downs and to create more grassroots support in opposition to the practice.
- With the assistance of a non-profit organization called the Amazon Conservation Team, indigenous groups have been using GPS units to locate resources of interest and then mapping them out on Google Earth. The Union of Yagé Healers of the Colombian Amazon (UMIYAC) is mapping plants of ethnobotanical significance as well as animals that they see and even mythical animals that their shaman see. The result is a culturally significant map that helps capture the stories and histories of locals while serving their larger land management and conservation efforts. Google Earth’s recent upgrade of its free imagery to a higher resolution has revolutionized this group’s efforts to monitor their far-flung tribal properties for illegal gold mining. This technology has effectively empowered UMIYAC and the individual tribal units in their struggle against better funded and more technologically equipped commercial interests.
- UCL Bartlett School are renowned for their work on the urban-region scale, and sometimes include such community-driven approaches.
More Information
Key Essay
In-depth essay by David Tulloch in First Monday at http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue12_2/tulloch/
It concludes the overview thus:
"The combination of new Internet mapping tools and PPGIS is resulting in an array of creative, sophisticated, and time-intensive applications that are creating a newly empowered class of users. Even with the assistance of new tools and techniques, measurable improvements in outcomes can elusive. In some cases, however, empowerment is derived from the perception of the participatory experience rather than the outcome. While this might not always be satisfying to Internet application developers anticipating dramatic and instantaneous changes, for countless individuals experiencing mapping at a new level these experiences will be exceptional. And, as an increased number of local citizens use these tools to look at patterns of growth, crime, commercial development and open space, the data and applications will result in a new form of democratization." (http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue12_2/tulloch/)
Forum
= P2PGIS.Net, electronic forum on participatory use of geo-spatial information systems and technologies
URL = http://www.ppgis.net/
"These online platforms serve as global avenues for discussing issues, sharing experiences and good practices related to community mapping, Participatory GIS (PGIS), Public Participation GIS (PPGIS), Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). We discuss a range of geospatial information technologies (GIT) used in crisis management, and participatory development, sustainable natural resource management and customary property rights in developing countries and among indigenous peoples worldwide."