Article type
Abstract
Background
Participatory mapping is a powerful process to facilitate social change by recognizing, integrating and communicating community needs. It engages citizens and community members to map their relation to a place. The redistribution of power stands at the core of citizen participation, however, literature shows that power dynamics in participatory projects are at best insufficiently scrutinized and at worst re-enforce existing power imbalances.
Objectives
There is a need to critically analyze (dis)empowerment implications of cartographic, participatory projects. The objectives of this review are to
- map claims, operationalization and evaluation measures related to empowerment in participatory cartography research,
- experiment with cartographic forms of presenting evidence to facilitate in-depth analysis,
- formulate lines of actions for researchers, policy makers and practitioners on how to best conceptualize participatory cartographic research projects to serve community members interests.
Method
We will answer questions related to rationales, processes and evaluation measures used in participatory cartography through applying standard review methods adopted within international collaborations. Spatial trends in our data will also be explored using spatial representations of descriptive evidence extracted from primary evidence. These visually oriented, cartographic forms of representation enabled us to bring to the fore patterns of empowerment that may have gone unnoticed otherwise.
Results
Based on our analysis of how participatory cartography is applied in practice we propose eight lines of action that serve the transformative goals of cartographic research: keep objectives humble and specific, evaluate interventions and outcomes, adapt to underlying power dynamics, invest in an ethical attitude in relation to participants and the mapping process, report clearly, move from a pure cartographic exercise to in-depth mapping practices, ensure accessibility to the maps in a post-project phase to continue the dialogue.
Conclusion
Cartography can be a powerful tool for social change if it is done with respect and care for the diverse voices and perspectives of participants involved. Spatial analysis proves to be helpful as a meta-analytic technique to explore patterns across primary research data. Yet, in choosing particular representations of the globe on which findings are projected, they may well keep certain power dynamics in place.
Participatory mapping is a powerful process to facilitate social change by recognizing, integrating and communicating community needs. It engages citizens and community members to map their relation to a place. The redistribution of power stands at the core of citizen participation, however, literature shows that power dynamics in participatory projects are at best insufficiently scrutinized and at worst re-enforce existing power imbalances.
Objectives
There is a need to critically analyze (dis)empowerment implications of cartographic, participatory projects. The objectives of this review are to
- map claims, operationalization and evaluation measures related to empowerment in participatory cartography research,
- experiment with cartographic forms of presenting evidence to facilitate in-depth analysis,
- formulate lines of actions for researchers, policy makers and practitioners on how to best conceptualize participatory cartographic research projects to serve community members interests.
Method
We will answer questions related to rationales, processes and evaluation measures used in participatory cartography through applying standard review methods adopted within international collaborations. Spatial trends in our data will also be explored using spatial representations of descriptive evidence extracted from primary evidence. These visually oriented, cartographic forms of representation enabled us to bring to the fore patterns of empowerment that may have gone unnoticed otherwise.
Results
Based on our analysis of how participatory cartography is applied in practice we propose eight lines of action that serve the transformative goals of cartographic research: keep objectives humble and specific, evaluate interventions and outcomes, adapt to underlying power dynamics, invest in an ethical attitude in relation to participants and the mapping process, report clearly, move from a pure cartographic exercise to in-depth mapping practices, ensure accessibility to the maps in a post-project phase to continue the dialogue.
Conclusion
Cartography can be a powerful tool for social change if it is done with respect and care for the diverse voices and perspectives of participants involved. Spatial analysis proves to be helpful as a meta-analytic technique to explore patterns across primary research data. Yet, in choosing particular representations of the globe on which findings are projected, they may well keep certain power dynamics in place.