can we use a crisis mapping platform to help tame the wicked problem of participation?
TRANSCRIPT
Can We Use a Crisis Mapping Platform to Help Tame the Wicked Problem of Participation?
Ana Brandusescu, Renée Sieber, Sylvie JochemsAAG Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL, 2014
1
Connect community development to
community informatics
Connect existing technology mediums
to a new technology platform
Independent public participation
(aside from events and workshops)
Create a dialogue
2
Wicked Problem Context
Background
Haiti Earthquake
Connect: crisis mapping, community
development, community informatics
PPGIS processes vs geoweb
mapping applications
Traditional vs new methodologies
Not new: ICTs do not guarantee
community support; lack of
participation
2
Methodology
Application 1: Espaces Lachine
Application 2: Saine Alimentation low-income residents (18% Lachine pop.)
Table for Youth Dialogue in Lachine
Application 3: Acadia Park Spaces student family housing, middle class (1,700 pop.)
Acadia Families for Sustainable Communities
Application 4: Let The People Speak Mixed low & middle income residents,
multiple ethnicities, renters (66% pop.)
3
4
4
4
4
5 Findings
Temporality: Is a Community Issue Too Acute?
Grandview-Woodland application
never launched
Reliable methods of community
practices already exist
New technology = dilution of
community efforts / message fatigue
Or a Good Match?
Acadia Park application launched
Imminent rezoning (~800 residents
relocated)
Demand for a mapping-based method
Safe environment for contributions
Open to new technology and
communication channels
Technology Ecosystems
Crisis mapping ecosystem = functionality
Economies of scale are not linear
Differences in development times
Reorientation of goals, communication
medium, contributions venue
Community outreach, on-the-ground
presence, local administrator?
Motivation to Implement
Civic activism and pride of place
Motivations vary and change
Lachine: no identifiable urgency,
unclear goals
Grandview-Woodland: urgency,
existing technology ecosystem
Acadia Park: urgency, a mapping
demand
Missing Link: Contribution and Action
Crisis mapping presumes:
action = reporting
A sense of response immediacy, yet
no guarantee of action
Example: playground safety in
Lachine; me? the Table? City hall?
Atypical Small Data in a Big Data World
Atypical small data: unstructured (SMSs,
Tweets), expert and non-expert process
1. Volume substituted for data accuracy
2. Community voice vs data accuracy
Conclusions
Mixed findings
Temporality: different acute community
issues
Missing link: contribution and action
Motivation to implement varies and
changes
Differing technology ecosystems
Atypical small data is challenging
Can we use a crisis mapping platform to tame the wicked problem of
participation?
Not really.
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[1] Cartoon drawn and digitized by Ana Brandusescu.
http://prezi.com/user/anabrandusescu/
[2] Crowdsourcing logo. http://blog.hbs.edu/hbsinov8/?p=1652
[3] Cartoon drawn and digitized by Ana Brandusescu.
http://prezi.com/user/anabrandusescu/
[4] Acadia Park Spaces logo designed by Lisa Chen-Wing.
https://acadiaparkspaces.crowdmap.com
Image References