Infusing Map Culture Through Participatory Mapping

In this article, the authors make the case for using participatory
mapping to infuse a "map culture" throughout a local community. The argument they present has three primary parts:

1. Maps are a unique and important language, and each map reflects
   "our relationship to ourselves, to one another and to the environment."
2. Creating a map culture within a community can be both empowering and inspiring.
3. A sense of ownership for maps can lead to their effective utilisation.

The authors use the Mapping the Neighbourhood project to demonstrate how a map culture can be
cultivated within a community, and how the community may benefit. The project is an initiative of the Indian Department of Science and Technology and is implemented
by CSDMS in the Hawalbag development block in Almora.

When this
project began, little in the way of mapping culture existed in Almora, even at the government levels. This situation was aggravated by the designation of major parts
of the town as "restricted" zones, for which government maps are not made available to the
general public.



In the Mapping the Neighbourhood programme, school children are introduced to maps and mapping techniques, including
geographic information system (GIS) and global positioning system (GPS) technologies. The students use these techniques to create local community and neighborhood maps.


The process, according to the authors,
has been an "eye-opener" for students, who have become more aware of their town; the students have realised that they "they have no parks, not adequate open space, inadequate parking and garbage on the streets." Villagers have approached the students to obtain village maps, and the student's
town maps have been shown in the municipality.