Crowdsourcing-based geoinformation, disadvantaged urbanisation challenges, sub-Saharan Africa: Theoretical perspectives and notes
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Date
2017
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WydziaĆ Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza
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Abstract
Scholars and practitioners concerned with geoinformation, cyber-cartography, development studies, and
other subjects increasingly explore crowdsourcing and its huge advantages for development. Some have advocated it
for adoption/promotion by government as a means of citizen engagement. The objective of this article is to increase
the appreciation of the contribution that crowdsourcing can make towards resolving challenges associated with disadvantaged
urbanisation in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We review urban challenges of SSA and three practices of crowdsourcing:
volunteered geographic information (VGI), Citizen Science (CS), and Participatory Mapping (PM). Then we
examine problems associated with the advocacy for government adoption of those practices in SSA. We argue that civil
society collaboration with an international governmental organisation (IGO) instead of government promises a better
way of adopting and promoting them. This suggestion is based on the fact that work related to this strategy is carried
out by a global coalition of civil society, the UN-NGLS. This strategy promises a more rapid way of taking advantage
of fast-tracking public engagement in the economic region, SSA.
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SSA, crowdsourcing, volunteered geographic information, Citizen Science, Participatory Mapping, civil society, IGO, UN-NGLS
Citation
Quaestiones Geographicae vol. 36 (1), 2017, pp. 5-14
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ISBN
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0137-477X