Tracking Public Participation in Urban Governance (original) (raw)

Spatial citizenship: potentialities of participatory geospatial web

Communication technologies recast the organization and production of the spatial and temporal scenes of social life and they open new possibilities of public action. The production of alternative representations of space, based on individuals’ georeferenced experiences, thoughts and emotions are increasingly supported by the potentialities of Internet based technologies, such as the ever more easy-to-use online software. The potential of these technologies to promote the agency, to change power relations and to disrupt the hegemonic discourse increase as more people become the authors of an informal flow of knowledge, information, memories and narratives. This research explores the potential of geospatial online practices, based upon the experiences, emotions and feelings to disclose the socially encoded meanings in specific spatial, temporal and cultural contexts, highlighting how spaces and citizenship are mutually constitutive. This communication will present case studies on the areas of education and public spaces.

(Print) The politics of spatial data infrastructures: State transformation, urban governance and the instrumentation of electronic territories

1 ABSTRACT With the proliferating conception and implementation of "spatial data infrastructures" (SDI) around the globe, the interaction of state transformation and technological innovation dynamics has entered a critical stage. Spatial reference provides a common ground on which the vast majority of public and private data can become directly interrelated-across all scales and boundaries. The resulting potentials for creating new services, improving (cost-) efficiency, enhancing rational decision making, as well as increasing transparency and participation have swiftly been embraced (in this order) by almost everyone addressing the topic. Yet, the genuinely political character of SDI's has largely been ignored. But it is here that SDI raises the more fundamental questions for the future of democratic societies. This paper starts from a brief outline of the cognitive and normative framework of SDI. Sustained by a global network of actors, this framework has allowed SD...

Citizen Participation via Digital Maps: A Comparison of Current Applications

GI_Forum, 2019

The effects of digitization on social coexistence have been a subject of controversy not only since the increased use of social media for political campaigns. Digital platforms are also being developed which, from the perspective of spatial planning and geography, enhance communication between administrations and citizens at the local municipal level. These applications are being developed in relation to three areas: (1) the everyday experiences and competences of citizens in dealing with geomedia, especially the use of smartphones; (2) the individual process design for a particular participatory case; (3) the desired societal or local political benefit. This paper deals with these three aspects and discusses five selected examples of how digital participation platforms can be designed to include the use of geomedia. Based on experiences with the proprietary development of the web application PUBinPLAN in particular and on its comparison with other platforms, insights can be derived with regard to success factors as well as to opportunities and risks.

Data democracy – increased supply of geospatial information and expanded participatory processes in the production of data

Craglia, M. and Shanley, L. (2015). Data democracy – increased supply of geospatial information and expanded participatory processes in the production of data. International Journal of Digital Earth. DOI: 10.1080/17538947.2015.1008214 The global landscape in the supply, co-creation and use of geospatial data is changing very rapidly with new satellites, sensors and mobile devices reconfiguring the traditional lines of demand and supply and the number of actors involved. In this paper we chart some of these technology-led developments and then focus on the opportunities they have created for the increased participation of the public in generating and contributing information for a wide range of uses, scientific and non. Not all this information is open or geospatial, but sufficiently large portions of it are to make it one of the most significant phenomena of the last decade. In fact, we argue that while satellite and sensors have exponentially increased the volumes of geospatial information available, the participation of the public is transformative because it expands the range of participants and stakeholders in society using and producing geospatial information, with opportunities for more direct participation in science, politics and social action.

The politics of spatial data infrastructures: State transformation, urban governance and the instrumentation of electronic territories

REALCORP conference proceedings, 2007

With the proliferating conception and implementation of " spatial data infrastructures " (SDI) around the globe, the interaction of state transformation and technological innovation dynamics has entered a critical stage. Spatial reference provides a common ground on which the vast majority of public and private data can become directly interrelated-across all scales and boundaries. The resulting potentials for creating new services, improving (cost-) efficiency, enhancing rational decision making, as well as increasing transparency and participation have swiftly been embraced (in this order) by almost everyone addressing the topic. Yet, the genuinely political character of SDI's has largely been ignored. But it is here that SDI raises the more fundamental questions for the future of democratic societies. This paper starts from a brief outline of the cognitive and normative framework of SDI. Sustained by a global network of actors, this framework has allowed SDI to gradually evolve from a specialist technical issue to a mainstream policy instrument. Against this backdrop the examples of France and Germany are used to illustrate the particular institutional dynamics that the setup of national, regional and local SDI's has unfolded. It becomes clear that state actors (national, regional) and the private sector dominate the processes, whereas the requirements of local authorities and civil society occupy a marginal space on the agenda. These common traits are finally discussed in the light of ongoing state transformation and changing multi-level governance systems. Apparently, SDI's have become seized as strategic projects, helping to construct new representations of the state and to mobilise resources at the urban level. At the same time, the deeper political and structural implications have been evaded as they would question established authority levels, sectoral divisions and governing practices. Therefore, to escape the logic of depolitisation identified and to prevent SDI from becoming an " information one-way " , it needs to be placed back in its urban context. If the starting point were local challenges and the needs of stakeholders and citizens, it is argued, SDI may actually offer an interesting opportunity for society to reinvent its democratic culture and urban governance systems. 2 BUILDING " INFRASTRUCTURES " : THE DISCURSIVE FRAMING OF SDI Spatial data can be defined as data with a spatial reference, either direct (coordinates) or indirect (address, postal code, etc.). This comprises not only geographic data describing topography, positions of physical objects (e.g. roads, rivers, buildings) and spatial boundaries (e.g. authorities, cadastre), but also the position of data objects such as socioeconomic activities, pollutant concentrations or registration procedures. Today, most data held by public and private agencies has a direct or indirect spatial reference, which makes space a powerful common denominator for interpreting data that describes the dynamics of society in any territory considered. A framework that aims to enhance the discovery, availability, quality and exchange of spatial data according to certain rules is now widely referred to as a spatial data infrastructure (SDI). The concept first emerged in the early 1990's from international discussions among spatial data experts i.e. practitioners and researchers. Regarding the plethora of SDI definitions available today, it is remarkable that these have mostly been derived from an attempt of classification so far, aiming to interpret SDI by identifying common " components " (data, standards, networks, policy, etc.), " dimensions " (organisation, production, technology, etc.), or main stakeholder groups (data supplier, technology supplier, user, etc.). This has in fact contributed to a convergence towards a particular understanding both in research and practice (Nebert 2004; Williamson, Rajabifard, and Feeney 2003). However, such an approach implicitly assumes a given " nature " of SDI that appears to reside within certain technological properties and organisational principles, and which is therefore deemed to become reality-sooner or later. It thus underpins a rather deterministic view that cares mainly for overcoming barriers to implementation instead of better understanding the social and political struggles that occur in practice through and about SDI development. For now, little to no room is left for recognising the meaning of apparent differences in the societal appropriation of spatial data technologies, and therefore the pivotal role

Citizens as Neo-Geographers and the Challenge of Responsible GIS

The TECHNOLIFE project is a methodological research project designed to provide ethical frameworks for new and emerging sciences and technologies. One of the technological fields investigated by TECHNOLIFE is GIS–geographic information systems. This report briefly explains the method and the results, and provides our policy recommendations to the European Commission.

Governing the geocoded world: Environmentality and the politics of location platforms

As location and the nearby environment become increasingly prominent for our communications, filtering flows of information and shaping our networks, geolocation technology and emergent forms of usage to govern information and visualize populations raise important questions as to how locative media could be used as tools of governmentality. Using Google’s location platform Places as a primary example, this article will argue that location platforms are underpinned by a geodemographical spatial ordering according to which subjects are located for the purpose of economic government. Particular attention is paid to the political economy of location platforms and the role of their underlying algorithms and databases in rendering social space subject to novel forms of commodification. Drawing on Foucault’s governmentality analytic framework, the article concludes by delineating a critical framework to assess the mentalities and strategies of government that the generalized geocoding of information is giving rise to.

Citizen Empowered Mapping

Geotechnologies and the Environment, 2017

The Geotechnologies and the Environment series is intended to provide specialists in the geotechnologies and academics who utilize these technologies, with an opportunity to share novel approaches, present interesting (sometimes counter-intuitive) case studies, and, most importantly, to situate GIS, remote sensing, GPS, the internet, new technologies, and methodological advances in a real world context. In doing so, the books in the series will be inherently applied and reflect the rich variety of research performed by geographers and allied professionals. Beyond the applied nature of many of the papers and individual contributions, the series interrogates the dynamic relationship between nature and society. For this reason, many contributors focus on human-environment interactions. The series is not limited to an interpretation of the environment as nature per se. Rather, the series "places" people and social forces in context and thus explores the many socio-spatial environments humans construct for themselves as they settle the landscape. Consequently, contributions will use geotechnologies to examine both urban and rural landscapes.

People GIS A Web2.0 Approach to Confronting Landuse Violations

The 7th National GIS Symposium in Saudi Arabia – Dammam , 2012

Common people have proven that high-tech ICT tools can be used for their common social and political benefit. From Tunisia to Wall-Street, social communication networks have played a decisive role in the creation, mobilization, and organization of public protest. But have they helped public reform? Web 2.0 PGIS tools are now one frontier away from becoming a societal tool in building a modern grass-root effective monitoring role. This paper is about how the new emerging concepts for people Web-based monitoring and its georeferenced attributes and analyses can help societies in transition achieve genuine change and reform. These tools can monitor government actions, but can they also track and assist communities combat their internal ills and own violations? It’s the story of an emerging world in which everyone is a partner in societal reform. A world in which young, creative and resourceful youth are leading the way in building a new society that is no-longer bipolar (govern vs governed). The paper shows how a web2.0 geo-application is developed and used to inform and monitor agricultural land building violations in Egypt and in which the local authorities are helped by live citizen reporting, analysis and prediction using crowdmapping.