Participatory Spatial Information Management and Communication in Developing Countries

Abstract

The participatory creation of maps, above and beyond their interpretation, started in the late 1980s. At that time, development practitioners were inclined to adopt Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methods such as sketch mapping (Mascarenhas et al. 1991) rather than the more complex and time consuming scale mapping. Preference was given to eliciting local knowledge and building on local dynamics to facilitate communication between insiders (e.g. villagers) and outsiders (e.g. researchers, government officials, etc.). This approach placed little emphasis on charting courses of action that would enable ordinary people to interact efficiently with policymakers (Rambaldi 2005). The situation was further compounded by state control of aerial photography, satellite imagery and large-scale topographic maps under the pretext of national security concerns.The state of affairs in mapping changed in the '90s, with the diffusion of modern spatial information technologies (including geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), remote sensing image analysis software and open access to spatial data and imagery via the Internet into the industry. With the steadily decreasing cost of computer hardware and the availability of user-friendly software, spatial data that were previously controlled by government institutions became progressively more accessible 2 to, and mastered by non-governmental and community-based organisations, minority groups and sectors of society traditionally disenfranchised and excluded from spatial decision making processes (Fox et al. 2003). The new environment facilitated the integration of geo-spatial information technologies and systems (GIT&S) into community-centred initiatives. GIT practitioners and researchers around the world were able to adopt a range of GIT&S to integrate multiple realities and diverse forms of information with the objective of empowering underprivileged groups, promote social learning, support two-way communication and thereby broaden public participation across socio-economic contexts, locations and sectors. This merging of community development with geo-spatial technologies for the empowerment of less privileged communities has come to be known as Participatory Geographic Information Systems or PGIS.

Critical Data Source; Tool or Even Infrastructure? Challenges of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing for Disaster Risk Governance

“…PGIS is enhanced VGI because it helps the community identify and better define a common interest problem and generate possible solutions, while supporting self-confidence and determination, community cohesion and identity consolidation [46,47]. PGIS produces maps that represent interactive vehicles for learning spatial analysis [48], helping information exchange and analysis, decision-making, and promotion of community interests through various forms of lobby and advocacy. PGIS is, at the same time, a method of involving local communities in hazard management, a precondition for sustainable disaster risk reduction, bringing with it the deep local knowledge that may differ from scientific of official knowledge [49].…”

An Assessment of the Accuracy of Volunteered Road Map Production in Western Kenya

“…One possible reaction to this, which appears to prevail in some countries [23] would be to prohibit mapping by communities and limit mapping to geodetic engineers. Such policy would be difficult to implement however in an open society like Kenya, where maps can be produced by anyone with access to web based computing facilities.…”

An Evaluation of Participatory GIS (PGIS) for Land Use Planning in Malaysia

“…The term participatory GIS (PGIS) and its practice was the outcome of a spontaneous merger of Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) methods with geographic information technologies (Rambaldi et al, 2006). The harnessing of tools, especially the internet, to create, assemble, and disseminate geographic data provided voluntarily by individuals has been termed volunteered geographic information (VGI) (Goodchild, 2007;Sui, 2008).…”