Advancing Your Mission With GIS Tools
Jim Craner, MapTogether
Geographic information systems (GIS) and online mapping applications continue to become more powerful and easier to use every year. Mapping applications that used to require sophisticated software and time-intensive training to create can now be completed in a matter of minutes with user-friendly tools. A wealth of data sources are becoming available online, allowing data from around the world to be mingled, mixed, and mashed up -- and where data does not yet exist, communities are using these new tools to gather it themselves!
Organizations around the globe are harnessing these tools and data to mobilize supporters, tell their stories and the stories of their constituents, and to share knowledge with people and communities everywhere. In this article, we'll look at some examples of nonprofits on the cutting-edge of online mapping and GIS, and how they utilize place-related data to benefit their respective communities.
I. Collecting and Disseminating Information - Ushahidi
In 2008, post-election violence erupted in Kenya. "Citizen journalists" throughout the country collaborated to collect information about this violence; they received incident reports from thousands of citizens via web and mobile phone, collated the data, and displayed it on a Google Maps mashup. The resulting website was named "Ushahidi" from the Swahili word for "testimony."
The Ushahidi project was so helpful, it quickly evolved from a one-off web site to an open source "software platform" that any organization can download and customize for similar projects. In less than two years, a simple website created to track election violence in Nairobi is now being used to:
- monitor crime-related data in Atlanta, GA
- monitor election results in Mexico and India
- monitor supply levels at pharmacies throughout Africa
II. Helping People Make Decisions About Place - Movesmart.org
Maps are a tool for visualizing data about place, much like charts are tools for visualizing numeric and financial data. Visualizing this data makes it easier for us to make informed decisions -- and there are few place-related decisions more important than choosing where to live. As Justin Massa, executive director of Movesmart.org, puts it: "Housing is an enormous determinant of success; finding the right neighborhood is one of the most important decisions we can make."
The Movesmart.org project is an online tool for housing seekers in Chicago (and soon other cities across the United States). Users of the site enter data about their neighborhood preferences, family makeup, rent budget, and commute requirements. The site combines data from a number of sources and makes neighborhood recommendations based on the user preferences with an eye toward increasing diversity -- that is, helping users choose neighborhoods that might be in their "racial blind spot."
The application itself is pioneering for a few reasons, but one of the most visible is the breadth of data available: the Movesmart.org team combined data from a variety of sources to make the application as useful as possible. Users don't just see aggregate statistics on a map, they get personalized recommendations with map features customized to the amenities they have chosen. Data within the application is sourced from public data sets about housing, transit, education, and economic statistics, as well as private data sources covering specific neighborhood features like banks and supermarkets.
III. Maps Of The People, By The People, For The People - Map Kibera
Those of us in developed nations are fortunate in some ways that great amounts of data are available -- data about our people, places, and activities. But for many people in the world, especially in developing nations, the data simply isn't available.
Kibera is a slum located within the city of Nairobi, Kenya. Often called Africa's largest slum, it is home to nearly a million people. Take a look at how Google Maps represents this area:
Of course, Google is a commercial data provider based in the US, so it's not surprising that it wouldn't have detailed maps of a specific African slum: most companies and advertisers naturally have little interest in a place like Kibera. However, as Map Kibera's public website points out: "Without basic knowledge of the geography and resources of Kibera it is impossible to have an informed discussion on how to improve the lives of residents."
Map Kibera is a stellar example of "public participation GIS" -- involving a community in the creation of a map. The organization is working to build a digital public map of the Kibera community for the residents and organizations working there. Of course, most of the residents of Kibera don't have the tools or access required to use online maps as we do. However, by equipping youth with donated GPS units and by using the tools and data repositories provided by the OpenStreetMap project, the Map Kibera project has been able to document huge portions of the community, cataloging resources, and providing a foundation for future development work.
Check out the same area we saw above using the Map Kibera map. instead of a literal blank spot, you can see dozens of roads, clinics, pharmacies, schools, gardens, clean water points, and public plazas.
IV. Making (and Mapping) An Impact Where It's Needed Most - Humaninet
With the recent calamity in Haiti, the NPOs and NGOs that comprise the disaster relief/response sector have jumped into action, mobilizing their staff, volunteers, and equipment to help those affected. Disasters like this, or the events of the Southeast Asian tsunamis, can literally change the shape of cities, countrysides, and coastlines. Since many of these areas aren't extensively mapped before tragedy strikes, and many responders are imported with little knowledge of the local geography, accurate and up-to-date map data can be incredibly valuable to rescue planners.
Humaninet is a nonprofit organization that supplies technical equipment and expertise to humanitarian disaster response teams. They have participated in planning and emergency responses from remote Pacific islands to downtown Portland, Oregon. As Gregg Swanson, Humaninet's executive director, puts it: "Humanitarian relief organizations have discovered the power of GIS and online maps for analysis, project management, disaster response, and telling their story in new ways to supporters, donors, and volunteers."
Humaninet has built a variety of mapping applications for use in disaster preparedness and recovery. The image above is an example from the Sumatra earthquake response of 2009. Humaninet can help agencies map critical locations in near-real-time, such as shelter points or resource depots. The organization is also experimenting with supplementing on-site reporters with remote map coordinators. The image below is a screenshot from a disaster preparedness exercise in Portland, Oregon.
From our local neighborhoods to disaster-stricken villages a world away, the new and evolving uses of online mapping technologies will continue to help nonprofits fulfill their missions.
