The potential of public participation geographic information systems in UK environmental planning: Appraisals by active publics

The paper draws on an empirical study of two workshops in which the issues that arise from the use of geographic information systems (GIS) as a planning tool in public participation settings were explored by local residents who take an active interest in local planning matters in their London borough. The paper demonstrates how issues concerned with the democratization of GIS and public participation GIS (PPGIS) informed the structure and conduct of the workshops and the qualitative analysis of the workshop discussions. Key themes raised by participants included: the potential of PPGIS as a means of extending knowledge networks; issues of data ownership and the responsiveness of data providers to public concerns; and the role that institutional norms and practices play in democratizing information availability and the transparency of the decision-making process. The paper concludes that the potential of PPGIS as a planning tool cannot be separated from public concerns about the legitimacy of the planning process or local government

Public Participation Geographic Information Systems

The term Public Participation Geographic Information Systems – PPGIS was first used at meetings of the National Centre for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) in 1996. It is also found in the form Public Participatory GIS. PPGIS can be defined as a research area concerned with public participation in planning processes with GIS application

Participatory Mapping, E-Participation, and E-Governance: Applications in Environmental Policy

This chapter focuses on participatory mapping as an e-governance tool to facilitate public participation. Public participation is a key component of democratic governance, and there is a growing reliance on digital government tools such as the internet and social networking sites and geographic information systems (GIS). This chapter focuses on public engagement using information and communication technology, namely participatory mapping, known by a variety of terms such as participatory GIS (PGIS), public participation GIS (PPGIS), and voluntary GIS. While the analysis involves use of participatory mapping related to environmental issues, the chapter brings together seminal work from various fields of citizen engagement and participatory mapping. The idea is to create one common narrative for scholars and practitioners, bringing together various terminologies, practices, and studies in participatory mapping in the environmental arena that offers a beginner\u27s frame of reference

The Use of Geographical Information Systems in the Urban Communes of Łódź Metropolitan Area

The article presents the results of pilot studies carried out in the cities of Łódź Metropolitan Area. The study concerned the use of geographical information system by the employees of offices of these cities. The interest in the subject of GIS in Polish urban communes results from the assumptions of the EU INSPIRE Directive and the necessity of its implementation in the basic units of territorial division of Poland. The aim of the research was the analysis of the impact of GIS on the sphere of the public participation in the process of local management and the possible use of GIS in the decision making in communes. Research showed what kind of software was used in analyzed communes

Public Participation GIS for sustainable urban mobility planning: methods, applications and challenges

Sustainable mobility planning is a new approach to planning, and as such it requires new methods of public participation, data collection and data aggregation. In the article we present an overview of Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) methods with potential use in sustainable urban mobility planning. We present the methods using examples from two recent case studies conducted in Polish cities of Poznań and Łodź. Sustainable urban mobility planning is a cyclical process, and each stage has different data and participatory requirements. Consequently, we situate the PPGIS methods in appropriate stages of planning, based on potential benefits they may bring into the planning process. We discuss key issues related to participant recruitment and provide guidelines for planners interested in implementing methods presented in the paper. The article outlines future research directions stressing the need for systematic case study evaluation

Public Participation GIS in the UK and USA: A cross cultural analysis

March 19-2

The use of GIS in Brownfield redevelopment

In recent years, the issue of Brownfield site development - the re-use of previously used urban land - has gained a significant place in the planning agenda. However, not all Brownfield sites are derelict or contaminated land, some are significant as environmental amenities - be it part of wider ecosystem or a green area for the local population. The growing concern to include environmental aspects into the public debate have lead the Environment Agency, the Jackson Environment Institute and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis to commission a short term pilot study to evaluate the contribution of a GIS for decision support and for "discussion support".In this paper, we describe how the state-of-the-art in geographic information (GI) and GI Science (GISc) can be used in a short term and limited project to achieve a practical and usable system. We are drawing on developments in information availability, as made accessible through the World Wide Web and research themes in GISc ranging from Multimedia GIS to Public Participation GIS

Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) for regional and environmental planning: reflections on a decade of empirical research

The term public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) was conceived to describe how GIS technology could support public participation with the goal of including local or marginalized populations in planning and decision processes. Based on experience with more than 15 PPGIS studies, the central thesis of this paper is that PPGIS has not substantively increased the level of public impact in decision making because of multiple social and institutional constraints. Following a review of a decade of empirical PPGIS research, this paper explores why government and nongovernment organization (NGO) adoption of PPGIS for environmental planning decision support has lagged. Despite methodological advances in PPGIS, agency barriers to effective public participation have not been fundamentally altered by PPGIS. For PPGIS to have a sustained impact on regional and environmental planning, agencies must meaningfully encourage and involve the public in planning processes irrespective of the GIS component

Technology-aided participative methods in environmental assessment: An international perspective

Provisions for citizen involvement in the assessment of potential environmental effects of certain plans, programmes and projects are present in current legislation. An international survey revealed that public participation is common practice in European and some other countries worldwide. However, a number of issues are observed to affect public involvement in EIA/SEA processes and expert opinion differs when evaluating the effectiveness of existing participative methods. Results suggest that technology-aided methods can improve traditional participation processes. In particular, GIS has the potential to increase community knowledge and enhance involvement by communicating information more effectively. Variable accessibility to technology and data quality remain issues. Combining technology with more conventional ways of gathering, evaluating and presenting data are seen as offering a solution to the need to promote the integration of public perceptions in environmental assessment procedures. Recommendations to improve current public participation methods and measures for making GIS available to the general public are provided