GeoThink
GeoThink is a term for a network of researchers and several non-academic partners who are supported by a SSHRC partnership grant officially called "How the Geospatial Web 2.0 is Reshaping Government-Citizen Interactions."
The research project aims to study the Geospatial Web 2.0, a world made possible by web-based interactive maps, GPS-enabled cellphones and other locational systems; where people can photograph and tweet about potholes and their mobile apps guide them to the nearest coffee shop, whose reviews of places can be contributed by individuals. Governments, too, have added to this geographic data stream by opening up their data such as real-time transportation information.
GeoThink's area of focus is government, the impact of this new technology, and the validity of claims about the effects on government efficiency, transparency and open data as more and more data is placed online. Researchers want to analyze the influence of the existing Geoweb ecosystem on technology-mediated government-citizen interactions in Canada. As part of this study, they hope to identify the best practices of the Geoweb ecosystem as it relates to government and how government leverages the Geoweb to communicate with constituents, the private sector and other levels of government.
As a non-academic partner, the Neptis Foundation will tap into the research network with the aim of improving the Neptis Geoweb over time. The network offers opportunities to provide students and researchers with a case study of using a geoweb tool to engage the public in regional planning and policy issues, and for Neptis to learn from other projects in the network.
More information: geothink.ca
Geography Department, Ryerson University
The Neptis Geoweb is hosted by Ryerson University's Geography department, with Geography Professor Claus Rinner and his students being key partners in the development of the project. Like the GeoThink team of researchers, Ryerson University geography and planning students will work with and critique the Neptis Geoweb in the "sandbox" of the classroom setting as a new tool to learn, teach and engage.
As part of the SHRCC grant, Professor Rinner and PhD students Victoria Fast will cast a critical eye on our progress, as part of a larger research project on the potential of "ambient" geographic information (e.g., geographically referenced tweets), the benefits of and issues associated with decentralizing Geoweb applications and Geoweb-enabled citizen journalism.
Professor Rinner is a Geographic Information Science (GIS) specialist with a focus on geographic visualization and multi-criteria decision analysis to support effective spatial decision-making. He and his students develop map-centred, exploratory methods to evaluate phenomena such as public health and urban quality of life. He also continues to work on GIS concepts to support participatory planning, and investigate the decision support capabilities of GIS technologies such as Location-Based Services and Spatial Data Infrastructures.
More information: ryerson.ca/geography
Technical Team
Our thanks also goes out to our technical team who worked hard to make the Neptis Geoweb a reality. They include Qasim Virjee (Design Guru), Michael Markieta (Graduate Student, Ryerson University), Kevin Simpson and Herb van den Dool (Freeform Solutions), and Byron Moldofsky and Mariange Beaudry (GIS and Cartography Office, Department of Geography, University of Toronto).