community mapping: engaging the public

Community Mapping: engaging the publicDr. Bob Maher, Senior Research Scientist

Applied Geomatics Research GroupMiddleton, Nova Scotia

Oct 28, 2009Lunenburg Heritage Society

QuotationNoah Richler, Up here, Oct/Nov 2009, p16

“what Google is doing with

cameras and street-views, we can do with myths,

legends, stories and art”.

“we should be working, now, on a massive popularly-constructed oral-history mapping project”.

“mapping the North through stories”

“ As we voyage we are creating new stories within the tradition of the old stories, we are literally creating a new culture out of the old” - Nainoa Thompson, Polynesian Voyaging Society

QuotationWade Davis, The Wayfinders, Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World, CBC Massey Lectures 2009. Chapter 2 p35

Overview

1. Some basic definitionscommunity mappingcultural mapping

2. Current status of the technology3. Case Study: Port George and Fundy Communities

Development Association (FCDA)4. Future Research directions5. Opportunities for Lunenburg Heritage Society6. Questions

What is Community Mapping?

• Approaches a way to expand access to “local knowledge”

• Visualizing community-based knowledge and perceptions encourages the exchange of information and equalizes opportunities for all members of the community to participate

in processes that affect their neighbourhoods and lives.

- Wansoo Im, Ph.D Centre for Community Mapping, May 14, 2008

http://www.centerforcommunitymapping.org/default.htm

Who is involved in community mapping?

• Community organizations• Citizen associations• Non-Profit Organizations• Other locally-situated civil institutions• Minority and specialized groups

Importance of Community Mapping

Improve and increase public involvement

– Allow the community and its members an opportunity to evaluate design and planning proposals and visualize the impacts that decisions may have on the future of a community

A significant contribution to geography

» Process of collecting and improving geospatial data» Enhancing our knowledge of the Earth» Local focus» Engaging citizens

• A desire to fill gaps in available data– Especially in areas where data are not

available– Or where access is denied for security

• Help the average person advance with technology– Not just a select few (technical experts)

who know ‘what to do’

Importance of Community Mapping

• Wikimapia– http://wikimapia.org

An Example

Who we taught

• Kingstech NSCC Campus– As part of their Wellness Week, we introduced them to GeoCaching

• Coastal CURA– Local community group concerned with Maritime water resources

• Lawrencetown Consolidated School– Introduced Grade 4 students to GPS and how to map in Google Earth

• Bridgetown High School– Demonstrated to grade 9’s how to collect GPS data and display in Google Earth

• Bridgetown Elementary School– Introduced Grade 4 students to GPS and how to map in Google Earth

Coastal CURA

LCS

Methods of Instruction

• Modified and created a variety of PowerPoint presentations

• Hands-On learning with the GPS units and with the HP Tablets

• Moodle for continued learning and access all presentations and reference material

• Demonstrate to teachers ways to incorporate GPS/GIS into the academic curriculum

Lesson Plan

• Brief Introduction to GPS and how to use the GPS units (Garmin GPSmap 76x)

Outside to collect GPS points and tracks

Lesson Plan

Download collected points and tracks

Demonstrate how to display collected data in Google Earth

Presentations/ Tutorials made that

are available on Moodle

Reference Materialhttp://www.gissandbox.net/moodle

Coastal CURA

March 6 & 7

Lawrencetown Consolidated

School

May 13 & 15

Workshops underdevelopment

• Coastal CURA: – Workshop focused more on GIS using various

(free) available software with attention on each member’s personal GIS needs

• School Groups– Visiting more classes and demonstrating how to

use GPS and the HP Tablets– Find GIS software for teachers to use and show

students (ArcVoyager, ArcExplorer Student Edition)

Creative Cultural Industries Community CulturalOrganizations

Natural Heritage

Festivals and Events

Cultural Heritage

Facilities and SpacesCultural Resources

Cultural MappingGreg Baeker, Cultural Mapping Tools; Connecting Place, Culture, and Economy for the Creation of Local Wealth, Municipal World, Sept. 2009, p13.

Cultural Strategic Plan

• Multi-stakeholder Steering Group • Cultural resource mapping • Community identity mapping • Community engagement • Council adoption • Cultural Roundtable and implementation

Ref. Dr. Greg Baeker, Senior Consultant with AuthentiCity

Innovation

Ref. Dr. Greg Baeker, Senior Consultant with AuthentiCity

Cultural Mapping – Two Kinds

Cultural Mapping

Ref. Dr. Greg Baeker, Senior Consultant with AuthentiCity

Resource Mapping‘Tangibles’

Identity Mapping ‘Intangibles’

Cultural Resources

Natural Heritag

e

Cultural Heritage

Cultural Facilities

Non-Profit Cultural

Organizations

Cultural Businesse

s

Creative Industries

Festivals and

Events

Resource Mapping

Ref. Dr. Greg Baeker, Senior Consultant with AuthentiCity

Community Identity Mapping

• Stories are the DNA of culture • What defines this place?

– Images– Places– Stories– Unique quality of life

• Narrative of culture and place • Authenticity and collective memory

Ref. Dr. Greg Baeker, Senior Consultant with AuthentiCity

Ref. Dr. Greg Baeker, Senior Consultant with AuthentiCity

Invite the community to share their favourites…

Help people tell local stories…Ref. Dr. Greg Baeker, Senior Consultant with AuthentiCity

Current status of the technology

1. Base maps2. Data Collection3. GIS software4. Web technology

Demonstration

1. Define the geography2. Themes of interest3. Base maps4. Web GIS

Future Directions

1. Community Engagement - Needs analysis

- Facilitated meetings2. Technology development

- shortest path- travel itinerary- linking different objects e.g.

video- guided tours

Case Study 1

Results from Community Engagement

Case Study 2

Results from Community Engagement

Results from Community Engagement

Case Study 3

Town of Lunenburg

1. decide on geographic extent2. scale3. building footprints4. imagery5. story line6. thematic layers7. ownership of date8. updating, quality control

Please Contact:

Dr. Bob MaherSenior Research ScientistApplied Geomatics Research Group (AGRG)Middleton, NS

Email: robert.maher@nscc.caPhone: 825-5477

Thank you