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Abstract The terms NIMBY (Not-In-My-Back-Yard) and YIMBY (Yes-In-My-Back-Yard) describe negative and positive attitudes toward proposed development projects respectively. These attitudes are posited to be influenced by geographic (spatial) discounting wherein the distance from domicile may contribute to local opposition or support. In contrast to specific development projects, the potential influence of NIMBY/YIMBY in a general land use planning process has not been systematically evaluated. In this study, we analyzed empirical data from a public participation GIS (PPGIS) process implemented for a general plan revision to examine the evidence for geographic discounting for a range of land uses using mapped preferences by community residents. Using distance analysis, we found significant evidence for geographic discounting by land use type with variable discount rates influenced by location of residence and the spatial configuration of land use in the planning area represented by zoning. The findings were consistent with NIMBY/YIMBY expectations with the exception of residential development where the results were more ambiguous. Residents want future land uses with amenities (open space, recreation, and trails) closer to domicile and more intensive, developed land uses (commercial, tourism, events, parking) further away. The findings have potentially broad implications because general/comprehensive planning—a requirement of most local governments in the U.S.—is operationalized through land use zones that appear subject to spatial discounting and the manifestation of potential NIMBY/YIMBY effects in the planning process. Future research should examine other planning contexts such as large urban areas with a greater diversity of land uses. Highlights • Describes participatory mapping process for general land use planning. • Examines evidence for geographic (spatial) discounting by land use category. • Finds different spatial discount rates apply to different types of land use. • Spatial discounting influenced by location of residence and current land use. • Presents implications for general land use planning and zoning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory and practice of participatory mapping (PM) has expanded significantly over the last two decades with proliferation of a wide range of methods and applications. The potential for synthesis and integration across four broad domains of PM ( indigenous/rural/community , urban/regional , environmental/natural resource , and mapping technology ) was examined at the Participatory Mapping/GIS 2017 conference held at California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo, USA) Jul 31-Aug 3, 2017. At the conference, PM leaders in each of the four domains participated in working groups to: (1) identify the key issues, including “barriers” and “knowledge gaps” that limit effective PM outcomes, and (2) identify the most important research priorities. This paper summarizes the findings of the working groups for the purpose of identifying common and unique challenges across the four PM domains and to discuss the desirability of stronger integration of PM knowledge and practice. In the indigenous/rural/community domain, achieving clarity in PM purpose and building trust in the process were identified as the most critical issues; in the environmental/natural resources domain, wider use and adoption of PM to inform policy and management decisions through stakeholder engagement was considered most important; and in the urban/regional domain, developing urban indicators and adapting PM to complex and heterogeneous urban environments were identified as important needs. The key issue in the domain of PM technology was understanding how technology influences PM usability and user behavior for the development and implementation of appropriate PM technology. The most significant cross-cutting theme to emerge across all PM domains was the need to evaluate PM outcomes to provide evidence of success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic monitoring of recreational use in vulnerable ecosystems is crucial to balance human needs and site capacities. Recently, publicly available digital data, including Global Navigation Satellite System-based Volunteered Geographic Information, gained attention as a potential resource depicting visitor movement. However, there is a need to critically assess its reliability for visitor monitoring across countries, regions and available databases. Our research evaluates the usability of GNSS-based VGI-data obtained from three common platforms: GPSies, Outdooractive, and Komoot for assessing the spatial distribution of hikers in the Bavarian Forest National Park. A total sample of 1742 GNSS-tracks uploaded between 2013 and 2018 were compared across data platforms. Additionally, available systematic field counts, carried out between 2013 and 2014 (11 Eco-Counter sensors), were compared to GNSS-based VGI data uploaded within the corresponding period. The comparisons at individual and collective levels (route lengths, kernel density, optimized hotspot analysis along with fishnet-based counts of GNSS-tracks) showed similarities between VGI data platforms. Data obtained from GPSies and Outdooractive displayed a higher correlation with each other than with those obtained from Komoot. Also, for GPSies, there was a significant positive correlation between VGI-data and field count data. Data sample of Outdooractive and Komoot within the specified spatio-temporal frame was too small to compare with available field count data. We highlight the necessity of systematic validation of GNSS-based VGI data resources, being complementary rather than the primary data source in visitor monitoring and recreation planning. Also, systematic long-term visitor monitoring using other methods is crucial to assess the validity of novel data resources, such as GNSS-based VGI. • This study evaluates usability of GNSS-based VGI-data for monitoring human spatial behaviour in outdoor recreational areas. • We compared data obtained from three platforms(GPSies, Outdooractive, Komoot) and field counts available for Bavarian Forest NP • There was a significant positive correlation in GNSS-tracks distribution across all investigated VGI platforms. • There was a significant positive correlation between VGI-data and field counts in case of GPSies. • We highlight the necessity of systematic validation of GNSS-based VGI data resources in recreation monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased ease for individuals to create, share and map geographic information combined with the need for timely, relevant and diverse information has resulted in a new disaster management context. Volunteered geographic information (VGI), or geographic information voluntarily created by private citizens enabled through technologies like social media and web-based mapping, has changed the ways people create and use information for crisis events. Research has focussed on disaster response while largely ignoring prevention and preparedness. Preparing for disasters can reduce negative impacts on life and property, but despite strategies to educate communities, preparation remains low. This study assesses the application and value of VGI in bushfire risk reduction through a participatory mapping approach. It examines VGI as a social practice and not simply a data source by considering the user experience of contributing VGI and the potential for these activities to increase community connectedness for building disaster resilience. Participatory mapping workshops were held in bushfire-risk communities in Tasmania. Workshop activities included a paper-mapping exercise and web-based digital mapping. Survey results from 31 participants at three workshops indicated the process of mapping and contributing local information for bushfire preparation with other community members can contribute to increased social connectedness, understanding of local bushfire risk, and engagement in risk reduction. Local knowledge exchange was seen as valuable, but the social dimension appeared even more engaging than the specific information shared. Participants reported collaborative maps as effective for collating and sharing community bushfire information with a preference for digital mapping. Some limitations of online sharing of information were also reported by participants, however, including potential issues of privacy, data quality and source trustworthiness. Further work is needed to extrapolate findings from the study sample to the broader population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature-based recreation activities are popular worldwide, yet traditional monitoring methods and their derived databases often limit spatial studies of these activities, partially due to the large area and remoteness of many open spaces. Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) from crowdsourced data could be used to study nature-based recreational activities. Most studies using VGI for recreation analysis are based on international English-speaking apps, and thus may miss information which is only available in local languages. Here we used a database from the Israeli unique VGI app and Hebrew website 'Amud Anan' (https://amudanan.co.il/) to study spatial patterns of recreation activity, using the points of interest's (POIs) density as the response variable, and several explanatory variables such as accessibility and attraction of the POIs. We also conducted in-depth interviews to study the motivations of users to share POIs. We found strong correlations between POIs' density and accessibility variables such as distance from roads and hiking trails, as well as with attraction variables such as distance from camping and picnic sites. We conclude that the Amud Anan database and VGIs in general can serve as effective tools for mapping nature-based recreational activity Israel and world-wide. • We analyzed the Amud Anan wiki dataset of open space recreation in Israel. • More than 84% of the points of interest (POIs; n > 42,000) were in open spaces. • Both accessibility and attraction variables were significant in modelling POIs. • Our multivariate models explained >70% of variability in POIs/km2, POIs/capita. • Crowdsourcing can be useful for managing visitation in open spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is increasingly common for participatory data to be collected from the public via a PPGIS, in order to gain a greater understanding both of the world around us, and people's experience of it. The place -based thoughts and feelings of an individual do not, however, always fit well with the space -based points and polygons into which they are typically reduced in such a system, which can limit the effectiveness of many traditional PPGIS' for data collection. In order to address this issue, an alternative PPGIS platform is presented, which allows the collection, storage and analysis of spatial data from the public without the requirement to artificially reduce these data to geographic primitives. The ‘ Spraycan ’ platform allows participants to create spatial representations on a map using a familiar airbrush-style interface, permitting the creation of vague regions and boundaries that better reflect the places to which they refer. Data are stored within a ‘ multi-point-and-attribute ’ data structure whereby each individual ‘dot’ of ‘paint’ created using the airbrush is stored as a discrete geographical object, and is joined to all other associated ‘dots’, as well as a variety of other demographic and contextual data, including free-text data in which the participants may add context to their spray patterns. The flexibility of this data structure provides a wide and extensible variety of analytical choices for the researcher, as is shown here by an example study demonstrating the use of the Spraycan for decision-support, as well as a number of real-world ‘ in the wild ’ applications. It is hoped that this work will open up the agenda for alternative PPGIS interfaces, in order to further explore the possibilities associated with the capture and analysis of ‘fuzzy’ place -based data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Access to nutritious food is imperative to physical well-being and quality of life. Previous food environment studies have revealed a disparity of access to healthful food on various geographical scales. An overlooked facet of this spatial perspective is the impact of the food environment at the individual level. Individuals tend to make diverse food purchasing and dining choices, including where, when, how, and which types of food to acquire. An unexplored avenue for further investigation is measuring the extent to which people's preference for food is elicited by exposure to their immediate food environment. This paper takes an innovative approach to this question by soliciting individual data about food-related activities from social media, or specifically, “tweets” (messages sent on Twitter). With spatiotemporally tagged information, tweets provide an ideal method for measuring the exposure to the food environment in real time. This measure, as a representative of individual food access, is associated with users' particular diet choices conveyed in their tweets. By comparing groups of Twitter users who shop in grocery stores to those who dine at fast food restaurants, we found that the prevalence of grocery stores that stock fresh produce within an individual's neighborhood may significantly influence him or her to make nutritious food choices. This study has a great potential to inform health professionals and stakeholders of the significance of social media in assisting with crowdsourcing human subject data that incorporate spatiotemporal dimensions and to explore individual diets in relation to their perceived food environment, which can positively impact the health of communities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The management of multiple-use public lands such as national forests in the U.S. is controversial because of the wide range of potential uses and contested public values for these lands. Previous research on national forest values and management preferences examined these relationships non-spatially. The development of public participation GIS (PPGIS) and volunteered geographic information (VGI) systems provide new opportunities to assess spatial relationships between perceived national forest values and preferred uses. This research used empirical data collected from a PPGIS/VGI study for three national forests in California to examine spatial and non-spatial relationships between place-based forest values and preferred uses. The relationships suggest public participants translated some of their non-spatial forest values and preferences into behavioral choices when mapping place-specific values and preferred uses. The empirical relationships between place-based forest values and uses were generally consistent with previous survey research results. Positive, non-spatial attitudes toward extractive uses of national forests were correlated with participant mapping of economic values and related extractive uses, while nonmaterial forest attitudes were correlated with participant mapping of amenity values and conservation-related uses. Further, spatial preferences for extractive forest uses such as timber harvesting were mapped proximate to economic values, while nonmaterial spatial preferences were mapped proximate to amenity-related forest values. PPGIS offers the potential to translate philosophical and ideology-based national forest preferences into place-specific discourse about forest management activities where public accommodation may be more achievable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examines the effectiveness of a crowdsourced participatory Geoweb data reporting application, known as SeeClickFix, related to flood events in the context of socioeconomic and biophysical vulnerabilities. Empirical data analysis to determine the socio-spatial characteristics of flood-related reporting trends between 2013 and 2017 from four diverse neighborhoods highlights two important capabilities of crowdsourced data i) identify unique problems experienced by diverse communities and thus address marginalization in managing flood related problems and ii) identify the patterns in types of problems experienced by neighborhoods characterized by divergent socioeconomic and biophysical vulnerabilities. Further, analysis of adoption rates of SeeClickFix in the context of neighborhood characteristics provides valuable insights into the scope of voluntary geographic information (VGI) and its potential role in participatory decision-making. Results indicate that problems of standing water/mosquito complaints are the majority of flood related reports in a high socioeconomic status and biophysically vulnerable neighborhoods, while stormwater infrastructure dominates repeated reports in socioeconomically vulnerable area, suggesting inadequate maintenance of critical infrastructures. Finally, the early adoption of the app and steady increase of reports in poorer neighborhoods during the study period indicates that crowdsourcing of data through a participatory Geoweb has the potential to give voice to marginalized communities and foster transparency. • This research was able to shed light on two important implications of Geoweb applications. • the use of crowdsourced data platforms across diverse communities has the ability to address marginalization in managing flood related problems , • it helps with identifying the difference in types of problems experienced by diverse neighborhoods. • Our research shows that residents from marginalized communities, where poverty is high and education is low, are participating in governance using the SeeClickFix tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a volunteered platform designed to provide up-to-date and freely available geographic information data. OSM is known as one of the most extensively used instances of Crowdsourcing Geographic Data (CSGD)/Crowdsourced Geographic Information (CGI), Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), or the Neogeography paradigm. Economically, OSM development can be beneficial for governments, especially in developing countries such as Iran, where financial support is limited. This paper analyzes the spatial pattern, evolution, density, and diversity of OSM road (OSMr) networks in Iran between 2008 and 2016 and looks to find casual relations between the OSM and census statistics. This is due to the fact that OSMr completeness reflects the importance of OSM data in human life. The diversity of OSM roads further reflects the concerns, requirements, and worthiness of clients about different roads' information. The results show that the road network in Iran considerably increased from 2008 to 2016, with road length increasing to 489,400 km in 2016 from 4300 km in 2008. In addition, road density grew while road diversity and evenness declined, which could be due to an increase in main roads. These results propose a more considerable need for a more comprehensive approach using VGI to supplement gaps in authoritative data in developing countries. • We analyzes the spatial pattern, evolution, density, diversity of OSM road networks and its relationships with census data. • Road density grew while road diversity and evenness declined. • Mapping direction extended from big cities to medium/small-sized ones. • Western counties located in mountainous regions are still not very active. • Top active counties producing VGI data are mostly populated by urban citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]