Collaborative mapping

Collaborative mapping without cartographic experience

Arlindo Pereira, OpenStreetMap

This presentation aims at introducing OpenStreetMap, a virtual community with the purpose of creating a world map in a collaborative way and make it available, for free and under an open source license, mostly for users with no cartographic knowledge, by means of extremely simple mapping tools.

Different uses of the data created by these users (personal use in GPS equipments, for example, or professional use – government and enterprises) will be also addressed, as well as issues such as community validation (Linus’ Law) and users’ motivation for investing their time and collaborating with the platform.

Challenges with collaborative mapping

Julia Strauch, ENCE

Nowadays, even though public and private entities make a great amount of spatial data available, there is a demand for these data to be systematically updated. That occurs due to the fact mapping is carried out to meet eminent necessities and there is lack of resources to keep the existing maps updated, especially in a continental country as Brazil, where some gaps are found in local or regional scales.In this context, collaborative mapping emerges as a new alternative for obtaining spatial data through the contribution of volunteers (individuals and/or social groups) who are lay but insert geographic information that meet their necessities, curiosities and expectations on their living space.However, collaborative mapping presupposes the need for defining a methodology, through the Internet, capable of motivating, making it feasible and integrating voluntary contribution of data for database banks kept by public and private institutions. Such contributions can be detailed and sophisticated in the format of texts, vídeos, photographs, personal notes and can focus on economic, political or cultural aspects. But these collaborative maps are still not very much used by official institutions because of information reliability, since it is not simple to guarantee the quality of data from so many voluntary sources. This presentation aproaches the challenge of attaining a certain degree of quality in collaborative mappings through the adoption of standards of interoperability between all participants’ mappings and the final quality when gathering all works in just one product.

Collaborative Geographic Data: who validates them?

Luiz Henrique Guimarães Castiglione

The purpose of this presentation is to foster the debate on the acquisition, structuring and availability of geographic data obtained and processed in a collaborative environment. In this context, collaborative environment implies the several segments of society which are not in charge of official geographic data, encompassing individual initiatives and private or non-governmental organizations. Issues such as the validation of these data and their relation with official data will be addressed in order also to promote the discussion about the social role of each data production agents involved in the process.