Images of the City in the Making: Participatory Mapping, Dynamic Data Processing and Collective Knowledge

Abstract

Abstract: The article focuses on the practices relevant for digital mapping based on dynamic data process-ing and GIS. I argue that participatory mapping can be seen as a form of data driven activism and as such it is fi rst and foremost the example of the collective knowledge. Hence, the primary function of the images (e.g. maps) produced in the process is not so much the representation of the city as rather it is the role they play in the dynamic operations of knowledge production on a grassroots level. Given that the computing technology and data processing saturate the social relations of the contemporary urban environments to the considerable extent, certain shift in the scope of analysis is required: the focus on how the images emerge and how they act in the world seems to be more relevant than the traditional analysis of the city’s visual representation. Key words: geomedia, urban computing, participatory mapping, data-driven activism, Ushahidi, Crowdmap One of the most widespread types of images related to urban landscapes today is digital mapping in various forms. It appears almost ubiquitous: the users of mobile devices increas-ingly rely on geolocating applications to fi nd their way across the seemingly chaotic urban jungle. The recent case of the widely discussed and highly controversial 2012 decision of Apple to develop its own mapping app for iOS6 while discontinuing its longstanding fruitful

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