PoliMappers - Introduction to VGI

Volunteered Geographic Information
Context and reasons of a crowdsourced phenomenon
Federica Gaspari
Responsible for Communication and Social Media - PoliMappers

Summary
Citizen Science
VGI
Enabling factors
Contribution
Examples
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Citizen Science
Democratization of GIS and science
Human community can be seen as a network composed by
billions of living sensors and contributors
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«Set of practices in which citizens participate
in data collection, analysis and dissemination
of a scientific project.»
- Cohn, J. P. (2008).

Classification
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Citizen Science
Long-running citizen
science
Citizen cyberscience
Community science
Brovelli, M. A. et al. (2019).

Long-running citizen
science
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This «classic» type of citizen science refers to the traditional
projects in which also amateurs, driven by curiosity and willing to
give their individual contribution to the community, are engaged
in traditional scientific activities.
Bonney R. et al. (2009).

Citizen cyberscience
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Volunteered computing: citizens offer the unused computing
resources of their computers;
Volunteered thinking: citizens offer their cognitive abilities
for performing tasks difficult for machines;
Volunteered sensing: passive sensing, where citizens use the
sensors integrated into mobile computing devices to carry out
automatic sensing tasks.

Community science
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Participatory sensing: citizens use the sensors integrated into
mobile computing devices to carry outsensing tasks;
Do it Yourself (DIY): participants create their scientific tools
and methodology to carry out their researches;
Civic science: explicitly linked to community goals and questions
the state of things.

Background
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2004
OpenStreetMap
2006
Wikimapia
2007
VGI
definition

Definition
«A special case of the more general Web
phenomenon of user-generated content.»
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Goodchild, M. (2007).

Enabling factors/1
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Howe, J. (2006).
Crowdsourcing idea
Collective intelligence Private citizen involved in contribution

Enabling factors/2
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Web 2.0 tools
Content management User interaction
O’Reilly, T. (2007).

Enabling factors/3
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Internet access
Knowledge and training of abilities Diffusion of «amateurism»

Enabling factors/4
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Common use Reduced costs
Handheld GPS/Wi-Fi devices

Enabling factors/5
Crowdsourcing idea
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Web 2.0 tools
Internet access Handheld GPS/WiFi devices
Participatory process

VGI – Main characteristics
Community based
Fluid roles
Evolving database
Common property – individual merit
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VGI – The role in the community
PRODUCER
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USER
+
=
PRODUSER
VGI break down the boundaries of defined and
traditionally opposite roles

Contributors categories
Neophite
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Interested
amateur
Expert
amateur
Expert
professional
Expert
authority
Coleman, D. (2009).

Contributors categories – Fluid roles
Experience gained through practising and studying makes
possible moving from one role to another.
Local knowledge is another important factor to be considered.
«We are all experts in our own local communities.»
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Goodchild, M. (2007).

Evolving database
The idea of a constantly changing reality – due to
the effect of both natural and anthropic event –
implies a continuous updating process.
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Volunteer contribution becomes part of a process
consisting in alteration, overwriting and
discussion of existing data.

Common property – Individual merit
The single produser, for different motivations, feels the
need to contribute or share his/her idea.
A good quality contribution strengthens the produser
reputation, giving him/her merits.
In the context of the collective intelligence, members of
the community adopt non-traditional approaches to
legal and moral rights for intellectual property,
emphasising the collective nature of the process.
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Other factors to be considered
• Humanity (possibility of bot routine)
• Frequency (casual/serious mapper)
• Complexity of contribution
• Individual reputation for reliability
• Level of awareness of the volunteered contribution
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Contexts for individual volunteered contribution/1
Mapping and navigation
Contribution to a public map series or a database
supporting a navigation or routing service. The
contribution is not always completely volunteer.
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Social networks
Contribution is based on a platform structured like a
social network driven by active members of the
community.

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Civic/Governamental
Contribution supports act as a concerned citizen of a
given town or city or a member of an humanitarian,
environmental or animal rights group.

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Emergency reporting
Reporting of the presence and extent of major
accident, incidents, humanitarian crisis and natural or
man-made disasters (wildfires, flood, earthquake etc.).

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Gamification
Contribution is based on tasks or challenges in which
the geographic location is a fundamental element for
the final result/score.

Motivations to contribute
• Altruism
• Professional or personal interest
• Intellectual stimulation
• Protection or enhancement of a personal investment
• Social reward
• Enhanched personal reputation
• Outlet for creative & independent self expression
• Pride of place
• …
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Budhathoki, N. & Haythornthwaite, C. (2012).

Way of contribution
Outdoor
mapping
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Armchair/remote
mapping
PoliMappers @ GeoWeekPoliMappers - Geopaparazzi
Bulk import

Mobile mapping
Outdoor or mobile mapping could be performed with
easy-to-use application for all the different operating
systems.
Many open-source tools are available for the development
of innovative solutions for data collection using portable
devices. These software tools fill the need of specific
scientific projects.
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Examples
Enketo Smart Paper
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Enketo Smart Paper is a free and open-source web application that uses
a popular open-source form format. The purpose of this specification is to
provide a common form description standard that many compatible tools
can be based on.
Enketo has been used for a wide range of uses: humanitarian aid, raising
historical awareness, clinical research, election monitoring and more.
Surveys deployed with Enketo work also offline and run on any device,
mobile or desktop. It has been adopted by Open Data Kit.
https://enketo.org/

Examples
Open Data Kit (ODK)
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ODK (OpenDataKit) is an open-source suite of tools for collecting,
managing and using data, focused on its simplicity of use, which
includes an Android application for data collection.
It is composed of three modules:
• ODK Build: used to design the survey form that users fill in;
• ODK Aggregate: server-side, it provides blank forms, stores the data
submitted, administer the users and visualize collected data ;
• ODK Collect: client-side, where users fill blank forms and various
data (text, numeric, data/time, location, image, audio, video,
barcode) are collected.
Kilsedar, C. E. (2018).

Examples
Via Regina Application/1
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This application has been developed with ODK with the goal of supporting
slow tourism in the crossborder area of the same name between Italy and
Switzerland within the Paths of Regina INTERREG project.
The purpose of the project was to collect historical and cultural,
morphological, touristic, and critical data. The application allows everyone
to submit georeferenced points of interest (POIs) in predefined categories:
historical and cultural, morphological touristic and critical data.
The project engaged universities, local administrations and cultural
associations, involving a wide range of expertises related to cultural heritage
studies, geomatics, land use and design.
http://www.viaregina.eu/app

Examples
Via Regina Application/2
Functionalities
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While reporting a point of interest (POI), the application asks the category
of the element, its name, the position (through GPS or an interactive
map), a picture, and optionally a video and an audio record of it.

Examples
Geo-Wiki/1
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Created in 2009, Geo-Wiki is a web platform engaging citizens in
process of environmental monitoring.
Individual contribution, via both desktop and mobile, is motivated
through the creation of specific campaigns and games in which
registered users can provide feedback on existing information overlaid
on satellite imagery or by contributing entirely new data.
https://www.geo-wiki.org/

Examples
Geo-Wiki/2
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Examples
Land Cover Collector/1
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Developed within a 2018 initiative, the Land Cover Collector (LCC)
application allows its users to collect field data according to the same LC
nomenclature of GlobeLand30, which is the highest-resolution (30 m) land
cover map available globally.
LCC is a mobile application as well as a web platform. It also enable offline
data collection, an option that is crucial for collecting LC data in remote
places.
Collected data are released under the Open Database Licence.
https://landcover.como.polimi.it/collector/

Examples
Land Cover Collector/2
Mobile application contribution
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Set current position Define LC class
Resulting point
contribution
Data query and
visualization

Examples
Land Cover Validation Game/1
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Developed in 2015 by Politecnico di Milano GEOLab, the Land Cover
Validation Game is a project whose objective is to handle the disagreement
pixels between different land cover maps and validate them through the
involvement of citizens.
The citizens are engaged in the process by playing and guessing case by case
the land cover class represented in the picture. The possible options are
identified by the categories from the official CORINE classification.
Citizens become “human processors” for a gamified application.
Brovelli, M. A. et al. (2019).

Examples
Land Cover Validation Game/2
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Innovative and entertaining way to engage citizen scientists, even with no
experience, in the process of validation of high-quality data.

Examples
Geopaparazzi
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Tool developed to do fast qualitative
engineering/geologic surveys and GIS data collection. Its
source code is on GitHub and it is free. GPS tracking is
supported.
In the map view it is possible to create, view, and edit
the geometry and attributes of point, line and polygon
features held in a SpatiaLite database.
Data can be exported in KMZ, GPX, bookmarks in CSV,
images, notes in PDF, Cloud Projects; imported in GPX,
OGC Web Map Service (WMS), SpatiaLite, bookmarks
collected in CSV, Cloud Projects and Profiles formats.
Data is not stored on a server.
Available on
Kilsedar, C. E. (2018).

Examples
Mapad/1
Defibrillator Hunter
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Mapad is a cross-platform mobile application that allows users to map
defibrillators on the field in an easy and fun way.
The app is based on a score system with points assigned with contribution
for each defibrillator properly mapped and with a global leader board
constantly updated.
The application will alert the user when close to a defibrillator already
present in the official database.
https://github.com/epessina/Mapad
Available on

Examples 41/49
Mapad/2
Defibrillator Hunter
Map screen New defibrillator details

Examples
Stall Catchers
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Designed by Cornell University, Stall Catchers is a citizen science
application developed to search the brain for stalled blood vessels
that may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
It is an online game that can be played by anyone by looking at
movies from the brains of mice and try to identify vessels.
https://stallcatchers.com/main#

Examples
Penguin Watch
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Penguin Watch is a project developed by researchers from the ornithology
department of the University of Oxford in collaboration with Zooniverse.
The aim of the game associated to the project is to count penguins in remote
regions (Southern Ocean and Antartic Peninsula) to help researchers to understand
the threats of different environmental conditions on penguin natural habitat.
https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/penguintom79/penguin-watch/classify

Examples
Pl@ntNet
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It is a French research and educational initiative
interested in plant biodiversity active since 2009.
Pl@ntNet is a citizen science project available also
as an app that helps its users to identify plants
through pictures.
This procedure is possible thanks to contributions
and observations made by every single person
who is part of the growing community.
https://plantnet.org/en/

Examples
Sensafety
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In the field of urban studies, Technische Universität
Berlin in 2019 designed the Sensafety application
to enable citizen scientists to capture the
perceived safety in public spaces and to
experience the statistical results immediately on an
interactive map.
Citizens contribute by answering the question “Do
you feel safe at your location right now?”.
Statistical location-based results could be further
investigated by local research groups or
institutions.
https://www.sensafety.org/index.html

Examples
Other useful tool for VGI collection and mapping
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CyberTracker
It helps create Android applications for GPS data collection. Info
Epicollect
This platform enables to collect individualised geotagged info together with pictures via smartphones
and present it on a project website. Info
GeoODK
A mobile application based on ODK Collect but with extended mapping functionalities. Info
KoBoToolbox
Integrated set of tools with complex validation rules and skip logic. Info
Ona
Open-source forms that capture GPS, error validation, logic, signatures, photos and more. Info
Sensr
It helps to create project apps for smartphone or to take part in already existing projects. Info

Examples
Other interesting Citizen Science projects
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LandslidesSurvey
Mobile application that allows users with any degree of knowledge to map landslides on the
field.
Info: https://github.com/epessina/LandslidesSurvey
Picture Pile
A Geo-Wiki application that involves citizen scientists in a picture sorting game related to climate
change.
Info: https://geo-wiki.org/games/picturepile/
FotoQuest Go
Application that collects evidences of landscape changes gathered by individual contributors.
Info: http://fotoquest-go.org/en/
More projects like these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_citizen_science_projects

Bibliography
• Bonney R. et al. (2009). Public Participation in Scientific Research: Defining the Field and Assessing
Its Potential for Informal Science Education. Retrieved from
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/plublications/CAISE-PPSR-report-2009.pdf
• Brovelli, M. A., Kilsedar, C. E., and Frassinelli, F.: Mobile Tools for Community Scientists, Abstr. Int.
Cartogr. Assoc., 1, 30, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-1-30-2019, 2019.
• Brovelli, M.A., Celino, I., Molinari, M., Venkatachalam, V., 2015. Land cover validation game, in:
Geomatics Workbooks No. 12. FOSS4G Europe Como 2015. pp. 153–157.
• Budhathoki, N. & Haythornthwaite, C. (2012). “Motivation for Open Collaboration: Crowd and
Community Models and the Case of OpenStreetMap” American Behavioral Scientist.
• Cohn, J. P. (2008). Citizen science: Can volunteers do real research?. BioScience, 58(3), 192-197.
• Coleman, D. J. et al. (2009). “Volunteered geographic information: The nature and motivation of
produsers” International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructures Research 4: 332–58.
• Goodchild, M.F. (2007). "Citizens as voluntary sensors: spatial data infrastructure in the world of
Web 2.0" International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructures Research 2: 24–32.
• Howe, J. (2006). “The rise of crowdsourcing” Wired Magazine 14: 1-44
• Kilsedar, C. E. (2018). “Examples Of Mobile Mapping Application” GIS Course, Politecnico di Milano
– Lecco campus
• O’Reilly, T. (2007). “What is Web 2.0: Design patterns and business models for the next generation
of software. Communications & Strategies” 1, 17.
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Federica Gaspari
Responsible for Communication and Social Media
PoliMappers
federica.gaspari@mail.polimi.it
Contacts
Politecnico di Milano | Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering

PoliMappers - Introduction to VGI

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