Syracuse community geography: evaluating a new approach to public participation geographic information systems

Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) study the applications of geospatial technologies, including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), by members of the public. PPGIS emerged in the 1990s in response to epistemological criticisms that the social, political and philosophical implications of GIS had been largely ignored by GIS practitioners. PPGIS strives to address criticisms by making GIS more widely available to grassroots groups and individuals. In the United States, access to GIS among community-based organizations (CBOs) remains limited because of the cost and complexity of geospatial technologies and the inaccessibility of appropriate spatial data. GIS mapping and spatial analyses, however, have proved to be valuable to CBOs in visualizing community dynamics. PPGIS examines access barriers and utilizes participatory approaches to build GIS capacity at the grassroots. Syracuse Community Geography (SCG) was developed in 2005 with the goal of improving access to GIS among community-based organizations in Syracuse, New York. SCG is a university-community partnership that responds to requests for GIS assistance from CBOs seeking to use GIS to support a wide variety of community initiatives. The objective of the current research is to examine how the Syracuse Community Geography facilitator-based model of PPGIS responds to GIS and Society criticisms and PPGIS practical implementation challenges. Using case studies and questionnaires, I investigate key process and outcome measures discussed in the literature using three case studies and questionnaires. Case studies explore how SCG facilitates GIS access among community-based organizations seeking to use GIS to analyze issues of food insecurity, neighborhood walkability and adolescent health. Questionnaires distributed to an additional 28 SCG community project representatives test participants' perceptions of SCG's efficacy. Analyses of case study and questionnaire evidence reveal that the Syracuse Community Geography model is largely successful in addressing challenges ascribed to PPGIS. It is a viable model of PPGIS that uses a facilitator-based approach and a participatory process that could be replicated in other settings. The process and outcome evaluation metric used to evaluate the efficacy of SCG could also be adapted by other PPGIS practitioners. Implications for future research are discussed

Making Space For Community-Engaged Scholarship In Geography

Geography has a long tradition of community-engaged research and teaching. Conventional institutional and departmental norms in many U.S. universities and colleges, however, often discourage such engaged scholarship and teaching, especially among junior faculty. We argue that geographers are well poised to unravel society\u27s twenty-first-century intractable problems if engaged scholarship is more intentionally supported. As community geographers in junior faculty positions at research-intensive universities, we discuss our experiences with placing community engagement at the core of our scholarship, highlighting opportunities for a more robust integration of engaged scholarship in academic geography

Community Geography: Addressing Barriers in Public Participation GIS

© 2016, © The British Cartographic Society 2016. Early advocates of Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) envisioned a future in which members of the public (broadly) and members of marginalized communities (specifically) would utilize geographic information and spatial technologies to affect positive change within their communities. Yet in spite of the emergence and success of PPGIS, open source geospatial tools, and the geoweb, access barriers recognized by proponents of PPGIS in the mid-1990s persist. As a result, PPGIS facilitators continue to be instrumental in addressing access barriers to geospatial technologies among resource poor organizations and marginalized groups. ‘Community geography’, is a growing area of academic geography that leverages university community partnerships to facilitate access to spatial technology, data, and analysis. Experiences from community geography programmes at three universities (Chicago State University, Syracuse University, and Columbus State University) demonstrate the benefits and challenges of a facilitated model of PPGIS

Making Space for Community-Engaged Scholarship in Geography

Geography has a long tradition of community-engaged research and teaching. Conventional institutional and departmental norms in many U.S. universities and colleges, however, often discourage such engaged scholarship and teaching, especially among junior faculty. We argue that geographers are well poised to unravel society\u27s twenty-first-century intractable problems if engaged scholarship is more intentionally supported. As community geographers in junior faculty positions at research-intensive universities, we discuss our experiences with placing community engagement at the core of our scholarship, highlighting opportunities for a more robust integration of engaged scholarship in academic geography

Community geography: Toward a disciplinary framework

© The Author(s) 2020. Community geography is a growing subfield that provides a framework for relevant and engaged scholarship. In this paper, we define community geography as a form of research praxis, one that involves academic and public scholars with the goal of co-produced and mutually-beneficial knowledge. Community geography draws from a pragmatist model of inquiry, one that views communities as emergent through a recursive process of problem definition and social action. We situate the growth of community geography programs as rooted in two overlapping but distinct traditions: disciplinary development of participatory methodologies and institutional traditions of community engagement in American higher education. We then trace the historical development of these programs, identifying common themes and outlining several challenges that community geographers should prioritize as this subfield continues to grow

Community Geography: Addressing Barriers in Public Participation GIS

© 2016, © The British Cartographic Society 2016. Early advocates of Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) envisioned a future in which members of the public (broadly) and members of marginalized communities (specifically) would utilize geographic information and spatial technologies to affect positive change within their communities. Yet in spite of the emergence and success of PPGIS, open source geospatial tools, and the geoweb, access barriers recognized by proponents of PPGIS in the mid-1990s persist. As a result, PPGIS facilitators continue to be instrumental in addressing access barriers to geospatial technologies among resource poor organizations and marginalized groups. ‘Community geography’, is a growing area of academic geography that leverages university community partnerships to facilitate access to spatial technology, data, and analysis. Experiences from community geography programmes at three universities (Chicago State University, Syracuse University, and Columbus State University) demonstrate the benefits and challenges of a facilitated model of PPGIS