Abstract
The collection and use of data from the general public, also known as crowdsourcing, is ever more pervasive and driving new relationships between technology and people. Such technology better integrates human creativity with computational pattern exploration for many purposes. Purposes such as to understand social norms, solve problems, improve our understanding of the environment, or to tell people where things are, such as astronomy apps for stars in the sky. It is incredible technology that helps people participate in decision making, a kind of democratising force that supports us to take ownership of our neighbourhoods and activities. Volunteered geographic information (VGI) is a geographic subset of crowd sourcing, where citizen data has a spatial component. iNaturalist is a good example of a VGI tool for creating and exploring data for the natural world (https://www.inaturalist.org), and OpenStreetMap is one of the best known VGI applications for capturing map data (https://www.openstreetmap.org).
Mapping and the Citizen Sensor provides a theoretical and practical framework for understanding the breadth of research on the topic of VGI. While not a technical book, it is a great starting point for learning the key concepts in VGI, particularly for those new to this field of research or new to GIS. It is an edited volume that collects a wide range of topics on VGI, from the citizen as sensor to integrating VGI into national and international data collection exercises. It was generated from the research themes of COST Action TD1202, a European funded project called ‘Mapping and the Citizen Sensor’ (see https://www.cost.eu/actions/TD1202) . This book can be purchased as a hardback, accessed for free online or downloaded in various formats directly from the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.5334/bbf. In summary, Chapter 1 begins with the big picture of VGI research: who is doing it and some of its core applications and research issues. It introduces the rest of the book which flows from data sources to best-practice guidelines for VGI collection and use.
Chapter 2 follows by providing an overview of the variety of sources of VGI. This chapter categorises sources according to whether or not they can contribute to existing data frameworks, such as those provided by national mapping agencies, and whether the data have been actively or passively collected. In Chapter 3, OpenStreetMap, the free and editable map of the whole world, is reviewed in detail. How to contribute to OpenStreetMap is discussed, the quality of its data considered, and the increasing number of applications that use these data is indicated. Also, the wider ecosystem of software that has evolved along with OpenStreetMap is explored, which supports users in editing their data and in using it for routing and navigation, as well as other services that click in to this mapping application. The future looks bright for OpenStreetMap with image integration and connections to other kinds of geolocated data. Chapter 4 considers the application domain of producing topographic map features with VGI, considering the challenges in automating the conversion of large amounts of VGI with automatic cartography techniques for rendering better maps. VGI data have its own set of unique issues for automating cartographic methods such as map generalisation and type placement, as VGI data are different to more consistent authoritative datasets. This chapter provides in very clear detail the problems that need to be considered in incorporating VGI data in topographic maps. Chapter 5 looks into engaging with VGI creators and how to sustain their participation in data collection. Given that research has shown that 90% of content is produced by 1% of contributors, the chapter considers how to recruit, motivate and retain VGI creators. Through a set of case studies, the authors discuss how volunteers have been motivated to collect VGI through mapping parties, gamification and working with schools.
Chapter 6 explores the most significant privacy, ethics and legal issues in VGI creation and use. The ability to mashup contributed data with other information, such as health datasets, or to be able to identify the creator is considered and some of the legal issues of intellectual property and liability are discussed. Chapters 7 to 9 all review different aspects of data quality for VGI, how to evaluate data quality, how to improve on it and how to visualise it. Chapter 7 reviews current data quality indicators for geographic information as part of the ISO 19157 standard, which include indicators for positional, thematic and temporal accuracy, completeness, logical consistency and usability. Chapter 8 focusses on OpenStreetMap data quality, considering how the process of data creation in OpenStreetMap affects data quality. And Chapter 9 reviews methods for visualising data quality, such as changes in colour saturation, contour thickness or spatially variable blurring. Chapters 10 to 12 discuss guidelines for best-practice VGI collection, use and integration with Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs). Chapter 10 proposes a protocol for VGI data collection to support data integration, which balances the contrasting needs of providing VGI contributors with precise and detailed instructions while ensuring enthusiasm and motivation of contributors is maintained. In Chapter 11, a range of developing and established open source technologies are reviewed for sustainable data management for VGI, for writing metadata. This chapter considers a range of metadata standards for VGI, from the traditional ISO 19115 to linked data. The final chapter of this subset focusses on VGI integration for SDIs, with particular emphasis on INSPIRE the European Union’s authoritative SDI.
Chapters 13 to 15 discuss the practical use of VGI in science and governance and its future potential. From experiences in National Mapping Agencies, Spatial Planning, to Environmental Policy Making. Finally, Chapter 16 concludes the book by considering the future of VGI in the context of ubiquitous sensing.
I found this book a useful guide to the breadth of VGI research and believe that it would benefit students and academics who are relatively new to this topic area. The book is also insightful in identifying the key issues to be considered when developing a new VGI web application, making it a valuable contribution for those working in industry and practice when planning a VGI project from end to end.