Crowdsourcing Edmonton's Ribbon of Green: A Case Study of Neogeography in Edmonton's River Valley

• Author / Creator

  Dance, Matthew Edwin

• Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) has defined a process to support public expression of place-based knowledge. The central weakness of this approach stems from a lack of collaboration support for groups of citizens. Recent GeoWeb advances are challenging PPGIS in this regard. This research utilized a case study method centered on Edmonton's river valley. Data was collected via 17 semi-structured interviews centered on users' local knowledge, and their communication practices using mobile- and web-based GeoWeb technologies. Interview transcripts were analyzed thematically. In addition, a cluster analysis was conducted on 79 GeoWeb applications to assess their utility for citizen collaboration. It was found that the study cohort exhibits a nuanced understanding of place that cannot be fully captured by GeoWeb technologies. The cluster analysis corroborates this result - indicating that, in broad terms, the GeoWeb does not support collaboration, citizen-based power structures, or a variety of data types and sources.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Geography
  • Neogeography
  • Crowdsource
  • Volunteered Geographic Information
  • Edmonton
  • GeoWeb
  • Place and Space

• Graduation date

  Fall 2012

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3B423

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.