Participatory Mapping: A Review by Karen Greenwood

Introduction

Why maps? Maps are tools that shape our perception of place. All humanity ... is challenged to protect, enhance [and] create healthy social and natural environments. Community mapping provides an inclusive and graphic framework for people to affirm and pool their experiences and knowledge about their home place. (Common Ground, Victoria, B.C.)



Through participatory mapping, local experience and knowledge about issues become a valuable resource base for researchers and managers inside and outside the community. Mapping helps communities to "analyse the linkages, patterns and inter-relationships of land use (FAO)." Articles in Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor emphasize the role that indigenous knowledge must play in sustainable resource management. The Women's Environmental Network reminds us that when local people make their own maps, they inform themselves, each other, and researchers and managers, and become equal consultants in policies and practices. In the last couple of decades, community participatory mapping has taken off in many directions. I became familiar with the mapping tools included in Participatory Rural Appraisal during a community analysis that I helped to conduct among nomadic pastoralists in West Africa. I recently investigated several different methodologies.

From conventional geographic representations of areas of land to more metaphorical maps of community relationships, and asset and problem analysis, mapping techniques are so numerous that this article will not attempt cover them all, or in detail. I will instead describe different methodologies while encouraging the reader to further explore the publications and websites listed in the bibliography.

PRA/PLA - Influenced Maps

Robert Chambers, a long-time proponent of Participatory Rural Appraisal, explains that participatory methods work through reversals of orientation, activity and relationships in the research arena, from an exclusive, top-down investigation to an inclusive group collaboration (Chambers 1997:130). Chambers suggests that resource mapping was one of the first participatory tools to make its way, in the early 80s, from traditional anthropological research through Rapid Rural Appraisal to PRA (ibid:132).

In the mid-90s, PRA morphed into Participatory Learning and Action to reflect a more inclusive vision of process and place in participatory development: participation is appropriate in urban areas as well as rural, and throughout a project, from appraisal to evaluation. The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) manual A Trainer's Guide for Participatory Learning and Action provides comprehensive discussion of the participatory theory and methodology evolved from PRA. The authors, Pretty, et al., begin their methodology section with diagramming, which includes concrete objectives and instruction for different types of mapping exercises (1995:79-83).

In PRA/PLA, most maps are created by community members, usually on the ground with natural, found materials such as sticks, stones and seeds, even goat and sheep manure. Baas writes in Introducing PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) for poverty analysis among pastoral herders in rural areas of Mongolia that, though the weather was cold, "the one map drawn on the ground was extremely good, allowed greater participation and gathered interest from passers by." For the purposes of reporting maps are redrawn on paper while carefully preserving the integrity of the maps on the ground. Maps are often photographed, though photographs do not always show detail well in publication. It should be noted, however, that maps do not have to be drawn on the ground. Participants may feel more comfortable working with markers on paper.

Though PRA maps can be quite accurate (c.f. Chambers 1997:144), their focus is not on accuracy but on the perspectives of the maps authors. Different maps, made by different groups in the community, will show different perspectives of the social and geographical spaces of the community. Such maps may be used to start dialogues, negotiation and collaboration between stakeholder groups. The following are some examples of PRA/PLA maps. The list is inexhaustible simply because new maps may always be invented to answer specific questions of particular communities.

Geographical Maps

The most common type of mapping in PRA is the Resource Map. It identifies environmental resources and problems, usually with the objective of planning community management of environmental resources. The Resource Map illuminates the importance of different resources and problems for the researcher and community members, while visualizing spatial relationships between the place of residence and the resources or problems. The Transect Map, also very common in PRA, is also used primarily for resource management projects. It shows the state of the environment: what's in good shape and what needs to be improved. Project facilitators and community members walk from one border of the project territory to the other, while making notes on the types of landscape, the flora and fauna, and problems that need addressing. Drawn on paper, the resulting diagrams show topographical cross-sections of the territory with notes below each portion of the cross-section.

Social Maps

Geographically oriented Social Maps plot the location of individuals within the community. Chambers illustrates how social maps can be used to show social resources, census information, and wealth or status ranking (Chambers 1997:136, 141, 144). They can be used to show relationships between the community and the resources of individuals within the community. Though such maps are usually more asset oriented, Baas' FAO project mapped poverty in a Mongolia community.

Chapati Maps, or Venn Diagrams, are more metaphorical examples of mapping that visualize relationships between individual, community, and organizational or institutional resources. These maps usually show the community as a large circle containing circles representing different resources within the community. Organizations, agencies and institutions that affect the community rest on the border or outside the community circle. The importance or quality of the impact each resource has on the community is shown by the size its circle and its distance from the community's circle (Pretty, et al. 1995:243).

Relationship Flow maps show the direction of flow, destinations and sources, and types of different resource relationships. The relationships might be between the community to other communities-kin, marriage and cultural relations-or to towns or cities with markets, health clinics, schools, government agencies, etc. The linking arrows are differently marked to show the different types of relationships.

Other Maps

The Nutrient Flow Map shows the flow of different nutrients between different resources on a farm (Chambers 1997:139). Pretty, et al., observe that flow diagrams, in illustrating the complex linkages between areas on a farm, lead to a better understanding of the impact and possible effects of an intervention or process (1995:244).

Pretty, et al., include Seasonal Calendars, a sort of temporal mapping, in their diagramming category. Such diagrams "explore changes during the year (1995:240)." A line is divided into seasons or months and marked with activities that take place during the year. Then, varying quantities of symbols are place in different areas of the line to show pertinent information for each season, such as amount of rainfall, amount of work, rise and fall of market prices, etc.

Analysis Mapping

These maps analyze issues and their relationships to causes and effects. Chambers includes a map showing the causes and effects of hunger from the perspective of a group of village women (1997:138). A drawback of analysis maps is that they can be very problem oriented. It would be interesting to create diagrams that map relationships between needs and assets. Asset mapping (discussed below) may be able to redress this imbalance.

Mental Map Analyses and Comparative Diagrams Analysis (Pretty, et al., 1995:238 & 246) present more affirmative frameworks. The former compares visions of future planning mapped by different groups of the community. In the example given by Pretty, et al., the different visions of women and men are compared. By enabling negotiation, collaborative solutions might be found through analyses of the differences and similarities between the different visions. Comparative Diagrams Analysis includes the entire community in the analysis of all diagrams made by the different groups of the community. Small group discussions revolve around information the different maps provide about issues, activities and the authors of the maps.

Health Maps

Though I have not seen health maps as a part of PRA/PLA, the concept certainly might be used with PRA/PLA, or in any project where health is an issue. Health maps locate illness or injury physically and geographically. The examples that I found on the Internet were developed for use in the UK. The Women's Environmental Network maps the occurrences and causes of breast cancer in the UK through maps drawn by participants of discussion groups. These maps (see the website) show geographical and temporal aspects of participants' lives and include their suggestions of possible causes of cancer.

The Hazards and Workers' Health International Newsletter uses mapping tools to promote worker-friendly health and safety research in the workplace. This organization utilizes a "do-it-yourself" approach, and the resource section of the newsletter contains information for groups and individuals on participatory research techniques and trade union safety training, education and action. The methodology includes "body mapping" to pinpoint hazards in the workplace and the effects of hazards on the body. Posters and examples are given on their website.

GIS and IK, Northern and Southern

I will now review some examples of GIS-assisted mapping combined with indigenous knowledge. These are all geographical maps, though they may certainly include social and temporal components. A Geographical Information System uses methods and equipment, such as remote sensing and satellite navigation, and computer software to create databases that layer data into different maps depending on the classification of that data. The methods, though a bit daunting to a non-geographer, deliver accurate, detailed results that can be used in complex, statistical analyses. Assets Mapping

Kretzman and McKnight (Asset-Based Community Development Institute) describe asset mapping, but as an inventory of assets rather than a map of relationships. Schlossberg has taken Kretzman and McKnight's idea a step further to combine assets and needs in a GIS format (1998). The Kent County Community Asset Mapping Project implements Schlossberg's idea of combining the assets and needs of a community into a GIS format. It includes community participants in a development process of bottom-up decision-making. The Kent County Atlas (Schlossberg 1998) shows the different layers of the GIS-database for the project. Schlossberg's website gives many more links to community mapping than can be listed here.

Urban Maps

The Green Map System follows the asset mapping idea by promoting efforts toward green sustainability in cities throughout the world, and building community capacity through networking. It combines participatory action with GIS to help urban communities create environmental resource maps of their cities. From the first Green Apple Map of New York City in 1991, the process was systematized in 1995 so that it might be adapted to different urban environments. This locally adaptable framework is used by diverse community design teams to create maps of the cities in which they live. Collaboratively designed icons symbolize different urban green sites and cultural resources. The website contains links to city green maps around the world.

Sustainable Calgary, in Alberta, Canada, considers their Green Map to be an environmental inventory and resource guide, or an education, advocacy and planning tool for environmental discussions in community planning sessions, and a catalyst for influencing environmental policies. Calgary has also used the Green Map System successfully with children so that they also might play a part in community planning. This first youth-made Green Map, completed in 1998, enabled the young people to have an informed say in the design of the new public park.

Rural U.S.

The Orton Family Foundation based in Vermont and Colorado administers a U.S.-based community mapping program with a more rural base. Their website claims that they are in the business of "[e]ngaging citizens to make informed decisions about economic, social and environmental issues that affect their rural communities." Different projects include trail inventory, beaver-human conflicts and ethnic settlements. Community mapping is just one of the Foundation's components. They offer, among other things, mapping software, publications, and workshops.

Southern, Rural, Regional GIS

In their article on GIS and IK, Tabor and Hutchinson (1994) list several methods of data acquisition, interpretation, and management, including remote sensing (e.g. aerial photography) and satellite navigation (GPS), to accompany indigenous knowledge in resource management planning. They emphasize the use of indigenous classification systems, which show relationships among resources, and express local values and management systems. These systems also "provide a common language for exchanging information (ibid)." All of this information is stored with the help of a GIS database. Harmsworth, in his 1998 article, demonstrates different types of layers within a GIS database, including types of information, levels of information (from national to individual), and levels of security. He shows how the combination of GIS with IK has helped the Mäoris of New Zealand to influence the resource management and environmental planning of their land. The on-line Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor contains more articles on IK and GIS.

Integrated Approaches to Participatory Development provides a website that outlines comprehensive instructions for making a Three-dimensional Map from layers of GIS topographical maps. The presentation shows the creation of a map of a watershed in the Philippines, emphasizing the combined efforts of technicians, community members and local land use experts. To assemble the "blank" relief model, the mapping team cuts several copies of a topographical map along the contour lines and pastes the cutouts in their respective "heights". Then, boundaries are plotted, different geographical regions painted in acrylics, and models of buildings, etc., are added. The resulting map will be especially useful for resource management planning.

In 1993, McKinnon and McConchie combined PRA with GIS to work with communities in Southern China. They call their methodology "MIGIS ... a Mobile Interactive Geographical Information System in conjunction with, and fully informed by, participatory planning procedures." They continue, "For many who remain deeply suspicious of computer technology [PRA and MIGIS] is like a marriage between heaven and hell. GIS has in particular been singled out for special attention as both a technology and a symbol of authority: power and knowledge, beyond the grasp of the largely pre-literate people we have chosen to work with." They have found that by combining GIS with PRA they are able to empower local people by permitting them to translate their knowledge through computer software into formal project planning. Their website describes the methods used and gives a report of the project.

Summing Up . . .

Participatory mapping visualizes perspectives and relationships. Different methodologies create tangible fields for discussion of geographical, social, and economic resources, and the spatial and/or temporal relationships between those resources. Mapping can also be used to describe and analyze the nature of relationships, which might between resources or constraints and the community, between different groups in the community or between different communities. Different maps drawn by different groups in a community will show the different perspectives of each group. These different maps can be used for negotiation in conflict resolution and collaboration in planning. Mapping can also be used to analyze relationships between assets and constraints, strengths and weakness, causes and effects.

Mapping is just the beginning (though it doesn't have to be) of the participatory process. It opens up paths for new questions and new tools. Different kinds of mapping can be used at various points in the program: exploration, analysis, evaluation. The choice of method will depend on the project, and the type of skill, experience and equipment available. As with any participatory methods, clear objectives must be outlined within the context of the community, with methods reflecting those objectives. No tool should be used just for the sake of "participation". The facilitators and community need to think about the questions that need answering, for the community and the research team, and make decisions on how best to answer those questions. (From : http://www.connor.bc.ca/mapping.html)

Bibliography

Baas, S.; Institute of Administration and Management Development (Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia) (1995). Introducing PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) for poverty analysis among pastoral herders in rural areas of Mongolia. FAO www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6000e/x6000e00.htm.

Chambers Robert (1997). Whose Reality Counts? Putting the first last. London: Intermediate Technology Publications.

Green Map System. New York, NY www.greenmap.com. Common Ground, Victoria, B.C. www3.bc.sympatico.ca/cground/mapping.html. Sustainable Calgary, Alberta www.telusplanet.net/public/sustcalg/greenmap/index.html. Youth Map, Calgary, Alberta www.greenmap.org/ymaps/kgrmaps.html#calg.

Harmsworth, Garth (1998). "Indigenous values and GIS: a method and a framework." Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 6(3).

Hazards and Workers' Health International Newsletter. London. www.hazards.org/diyresearch/index.htm.

Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor. The Hague, The Netherlands : NUFFIC/CIRAN www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/index.html. NUFFIC Search engine www.nuffic.nl:8765.

Informal Working Group on Participatory Approaches and Methods to Support Sustainable Livelihoods & Food Security (IWG-PA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). www.fao.org/participation/default.html

Integrated Approaches to Participatory Development/Participatory Avenues : maintained by Giacomo Rambaldi. www.iapad.org.

International Institute for Environment and Development : London www.iied.org.

McKinnon, John & Jack McConchie (1993). An Introduction Into MIGIS & Final MIGIS PRA Report. New Zealand. www.geo. vuw.ac.nz/geography/projects/migis.

McKnight JL & Kretzman JP, directors. Asset-Based Community Development Institute (ABCD). Chicago : Northwestern University www.northwestern.edu/ipr/abcd/abcdtools.html.

Orton Family Foundation and The Orton Institute. Vermont and Colorado www.communitymap.org.

Pretty, Jules N., Irene Guijt, Ian Scoones & John Thompson (1995). A Trainer's Guide for Participatory Learning and Action. London : Sustainable Agriculture Programme, International Institute for Environment and Development.

Schlossberg M, Project Manager (1998). Kent County Community Asset Mapping Project: Kent County, Michigan Community Atlas (v1.0). Ann Arbor, MI : The United Way; University of Michigan Urban, Technological, and Environmental Planning Program www.uoregon.edu/~schlossb/pppm/gis/kt_atlas.pdf.

Schlossberg Marc (1998). Asset Mapping and Community Development Planning with GIS: A Look at the Heart of West Michigan United Way's Innovative Approach. Presented at the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Annual Conference, Seattle, WA www.uoregon.edu/~schlossb/pppm/gis/arnova7b.html

Schlossberg, Marc : Community-Based GIS Links www.uoregon.edu/~schlossb/pppm/gis/projects.htm, www.uoregon. edu/~schlossb/pppm/read.

The Women's Environmental Network. London. www.wen.org.uk/health/pbcom/breast.htm.

Biographical Note

Karen Greenough grew up in Spokane, WA, and received a degree in theatre before joining the Peace Corps in 1985. Following a three year posting in Niger, she returned in 1991 to live there. She worked sporadically on a few different development projects with both settled and nomadic people. She returned to the U.S. in 1998 and is now completing a Masters in Applied Anthropology at the University of Kentucky, with plans to continue working in Niger. She can be reached at kgree2@uky.edu.