I’m really glad to see all this discussion sparked by my post, which I have enjoyed reading. I’m sorry I wasn’t on this list to reply directly to many posts. (My article is here in case you did not see https://medium.com/@ricaji/openstreetmap-mapping-power-to-the-people-e938c38da93d <https://medium.com/@ricaji/openstreetmap-mapping-power-to-the-people-e938c38da93d>)
First of all, I did not title the article “arguments against remote mapping” for a reason. It’s not my axe to grind. Someone said the article is more “for” local mapping than against remote which is true. My background is in international development and that is how I’ve approached the possibilities of OSM as well. There are plenty of times when remote mapping is a good thing... The question for me is more about how to prioritize and distinguish when and where and how to integrate this so that it increases the profile and abilities of local groups in a real way. Someone said, we don’t want to exclude mappers because of poverty - that’s what I’m talking about. There are quite a few parallels in development/aid work where foreigners tend to organize things for locals when they should be listening/ allowing local leadership more. That’s where I’m coming from. The growing efforts by HOT and Missing Maps and others are a very positive development, I do not mean to imply otherwise. But while something like Missing Maps may have a 50/50 intent, but the realities of international development and humanitarian work are such that it requires a lot more effort/resources for one 50 than the other, and with a lot less reward in terms of funding or public attention. As such, we need to generate much more support for, discussion of, and thinking around this process of engaging, organizing, supporting, funding, maintaining the interest of local mappers (while outside mappers are playing the supporting role that they should) in order to help them gain a higher profile and leadership. That to me is a broader membership discussion I’d rather see than arguing about remote mapping. It is also an opportunity since there is a spotlight on the remote volunteer mappers lately. They’re also looking to learn and understand far away places. Someone wrote: "We need to encourage local mapping, but large-scale disasters create a need for immediate maps, which, in some cases, means outside help is needed.” This is true. But with such large scale disasters comes funding for mapping in other places which still has the needs of the international community as its focus. There’s an inevitability to the process and how it’s done which seems a bit premature. To me it’s important to keep up the variety and creativity as well as critical thinking about how we approach difficult topics like mapping with very vulnerable people. I was also hoping to highlight the longer term community building needed and talk about that. I’m not sure if OSMF is the right place to bring this or not, and if not, where? Well, I like a good debate, so I’m happy to see this and also to talk to anyone about any of this so feel free to contact me directly! _______________ Erica Hagen GroundTruth Initiative <http://groundtruth.in/> +1 773 313 5782 Map Kibera <http://mapkibera.org/> | OpenSchoolsKenya <http://openschoolskenya.org/> Check out my new talk from TEDxGateway here! Mapping the Slums <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVkyBf_TM9s&feature=youtu.be>
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