Geo-Technologies for Spatial Knowledge: Challenges for Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Development

Abstract

Critical to governance for sustainable and inclusive urban development is access to, and management of, relevant contextual spatial knowledge. Digital geo-technologies such as geographical information systems, online applications and spatial simulation models are increasingly becoming embedded in urban governance processes to produce, utilize, exchange, and monitor contextual knowledge and create scenarios for the future. This chapter provides a comprehensive state-ofthe-art review of geo-technologies for spatial knowledge production and management for urban governance focusing on (1) the kinds of geo-technologies that feature in the urban governance area; (2) the discourses with respect to geo-technologies in urban governance processes; (3) the kinds of knowledge produced, used, exchanged, and contested in relation to quality of life, economic development and the ecosystem; and (4) the transformative potential of geo-technologies in urban governance processes. Through this review it draws out the capacities and challenges of geotechnologies for inclusive and sustainable urban development.

Multi-temporal transect analysis of peri-urban developments in Faridabad, India

“…Multi-temporal, high-resolution satellite images, and geo-information systems have revolutionized cartographic opportunities (Longley, 2002;Pfeffer et al, 2015) allowing peri-urban land-use changes to be detected over shorter intervals and with higher accuracy. However, it is widely acknowledged that a sole detection of land-use or land-cover changes cannot explain the reasons for change or certain development trajectories (Lambin et al, 2001;Rashed & Jürgens, 2010).…”

“…Instead, we followed an approach of visual image interpretation and manual mapping, which 'offers an efficient method to classify complex and heterogeneous landscapes', such as peri-urban areas (Antrop & Van Eetvelde, 2000, p. 56). Even with the available advanced remote sensing technology (Baud, Kuffer, Pfeffer, Sliuzas, & Karuppannan, 2010;Pfeffer et al, 2015), '[v]isual interpretation is better suited for delimiting patches that incorporate built and nonbuilt components of the landscape, compared to digital image processing approaches' (Zhou, Cadenasso, Schwarz, & Pickett, 2014, p. 3370). Therefore, we used multi-temporal Google Earth imagery (chosen scenes dated 26 February 2008 and 9 September 2016) and the visual interpretation was guided by reference data (GPS-based field mapping of the different land uses and photos as ground truth data) from a field survey in October 2016.…”

“…They are hybrid and multifunctional spaces, which pose great challenges for governance as they often collide with non-matching administrative boundaries, widespread institutional multiplicity, and fragmentation, as well as legal pluralism (Allen, 2014;Ros-Tonen, Pouw, & Bavinck, 2015). A critical analysis of peri-urban dynamics is, therefore, in great need of 'contextual spatial knowledge' (Pfeffer, Martinez, O'Sullivan, & Scott, 2015). We argue that a processual, contextual mapping of these multilayered peri-urban dynamics is key to detect, analyze, and -in the optimal case -better govern processes of (peri-)urbanization for sustainable and inclusive development.…”

HCI-Evaluation of the GeoCitizen-reporting App for citizen participation in spatial planning and community management among members of marginalized communities in Cali, Colombia

“…Today, the geo(spatial)web, which combines geographical information, internet technology and social networking to produce, use and exchange geo-spatial information (Scharl & Tochterman, 2007), is an intrinsic part of many PPGIS frameworks (Pfeffer et al, 2015). An increasing number of cities provide geospatial web platforms (e.g.…”

“…Ethical issues such as the privacy of shared (locational) data and abusive user behaviour (Ashley et al, 2009;Torrens, 2010), the shortcomings of geo-technologies in representing the perspectives of minority and vulnerable groups (Pfeffer et al, 2015), as well as the issue of ownership of (local) knowledge mapped through crowd-sourced data (McCall, 2012) have to be considered when designing geospatial web applications for a PPGIS environment. In general, maps and data created in these applications tend to reflect the reality of the wealthier and more technologically experienced individuals and communities; they do not represent the qualities of a random sample population.…”