Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Participatory GIS (PGIS) evolved as a way of recognizing a wider suite of
information types and information sources and types to GIS. 2 “Participation” in
PGIS can range from information sharing, consultation, involvement in decision
making, initiating actions, and evaluating the applications of the mapping process
(McCall 2003 ). The field, while diverse, is united by a common interest in context
or issue-driven GIS that celebrates the multiplicity of geographic realities rather
than the technical aspects of finding solutions. It aims to understand how users
engage with geographic information and often has aims that relate to: commu-
nity development, capacity building, public access to official data, inclusion of
marginalized groups, one or more real-world applications, and advancing social
theory and qualitative research as it relates to democratic spatial decision making
(Dunn 2007 ; Aberly and Seiber 2002 ). PGIS often focuses on a bottom-up approach
to GIS applications and recognizes the potential for maps to be used as forms of
political empowerment (Elwood 2006 ).
The flexibility that allows PGIS to address questions when it is necessary or
preferable to accommodate imperfect formal data sets, collective knowledge of
participants, and alternative conceptions of space (McCall 2003 ; Dunn 2007 ).
By recognizing more information types and sources, PGIS applications aim to
provide a more socially aware GIS that affords greater privilege and legitimacy
to indigenous sources of knowledge (Dunn 2007 ). In establishing itself as a more
aware GIS, PGIS involves a deeper analysis of what constitutes knowledge, how it
should be represented, and evaluated (Dunn 2007 ). Definitions of acceptable levels
of accuracy and precision shift as researchers strive to represent spatial phenomena
with fuzzy distributions (McCall 2003 ). It is well suited to questions that must
be answered using imperfect data as it can use the collective knowledge of partici-
pants to fill in data missing from existing records, include alternative conceptions
of space, and lend legitimacy and accountability to the final map (McCall 2003 ;
Dunn 2007 ).
Figure 3.2 presents the dominant mental model for PGIS. It is iterative and
includes as many relevant stakeholders as possible. The organization or individual
convening the creation of a participatory GIS may support an academic or political
agenda; and this may be for the benefit of the individual organization or the group.
There is an emphasis on the transformative potential of participation and an interest
in iterative and diverse forms of interaction.
3.6 PGIS Process
To identify water information providers within the study boundary, the study
used use researcher-initiated internet searches and participant generated lists.
Organizations remained in the population of WI providers if a representative
2 PGIS often includes processes through which stakeholders provide data and define mapping
outcomes, but can also enlist participants in designing technical systems for non-expert access to
data. Here, the focus is mainly on PGIS via the first mechanism.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search