Potentials and Pitfalls of Civic Engagement through Pokémon GO, Augmented Reality, and Gamification

By Peck Sangiambut Media coverage in recent months may be focusing on Niantic’s continuous battle with Pokémon GO exploits and the game’s apparent demise, but here at Geothink we still see great potential in augmented reality (AR) games to promote community engagement. Our research examines communities and citizen-government engagement, particularly through geospatial technologies such as the geoweb. At the height … Read More

Geothoughts Talks 4, 5, 6, & 7: Four Talks to Remember from the 2016 Summer Institute

By Drew Bush Geothink’s Summer Institute may have concluded but, for those of you who missed it, we bring you four talks to remember. These lectures come from day two of the institute when four Geothink faculty members gave short talks on their different disciplinary approaches to evaluating open data. The lectures feature Peter Johnson, an assistant professor at Waterloo … Read More

Measuring the Value of Open Government Data – Summer Institute Day 2

By Drew Bush Day two of the 2016 Summer Institute began with presentations from Geothink’s faculty that aimed to provide different disciplinary approaches to evaluating open data. Armed with this information, students spent the rest of the day working in groups to first create measures to value open data, and, second, role-play how differing sectors might use a specific type … Read More

Geothoughts 10: Governing Makerspaces in Toronto with Jordan Bowden

By Drew Bush We’re very excited to present you with our tenth episode of Geothoughts. You can also subscribe to this Podcast by finding it on iTunes. In this episode, we examine a project funded by McGill University Arts Undergraduate Research Internship Award (ARIA) and Geothink. In it, one student has found a huge variance between the types of Makerspaces … Read More

Geothink at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers

By Drew Bush From March 29 to April 2, 2016, Geothink’s students, co-applicants, and collaborators presented their research and met with colleagues at the now concluded 2016 Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA. Over the week, Geothinkers gave 11 presentations, organized six sessions, chaired five sessions, and were panellists on four sessions. See who attended … Read More

Crosspost: In Search of the Mother of GIS? Thoughts on Panel Session 1475 Gender & GIScience at AAG 2016

By Victoria Fast This post was originally published on GIS2 at Ryerson University: Geographic Information Science and Systems on April 6, 2016. We re-publish it here with permission of Dr. Victoria Fast who presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers (AAG). Roger Tomlinson has passed, and Mike Goodchild is in (a very active) retirement. So, … Read More

Geothoughts Conversations 2: The Nature of Democracy in the Age of Open Data

By Drew Bush The largest grant investigating two-way exchanges of locational information between citizens and their city governments, Geothink makes possible countless collaborations and discussions. This month, Geothoughts Conversations brings you a look at one such conversation that took place this past January on the wintry downtown campus of McGill University in Montreal, QC. We sat down with Geothink head … Read More

Twitter Chat: Civic Participation on the Geoweb

All cylinders were firing by the time we wrapped up our Nov. 23 Twitter chat on meaningful civic participation on the geoweb. There were many parallel conversations that we hope will continue among participants and the wider Geothink community into the future. Here we share a few highlights, as well as a transcript of the chat. We should ask what criteria define “civic … Read More

An Expert's View on Civic Participation on the Geoweb

By Naomi Bloch As an early warm-up to our November 23 Twitter chat — What does meaningful civic participation on the geoweb look like? — we asked Geothink Head Renee Sieber to share her perspective. Here are a few highlights. More access, more communication I think we’re in an environment where we’ve really broadened opportunities for citizens to participate through social media, through … Read More

Spotlight on Recent Publications: Critical Reflections on Outcomes from Three Geoweb Partnerships

By Naomi Bloch Exploring university–community partnerships Participatory geospatial technologies have the potential to support and promote citizen engagement. This great promise has led to more collaborations between academics and community partners interested in pursuing this aim. In their recently published paper, “A web of expectations: Evolving relationships in community participatory geoweb projects,” four Geothink researchers and their colleagues cast a reflective eye … Read More

Crosspost: Being Philosophical About Crowdsourced Geographic Information

This Geo: Geography and Environment blog post is cross-posted with permission from the authors, Renée Sieber (McGill University, Canada) and Muki Haklay (University College London, UK). By Renée Sieber and Muki Haklay Our recent paper, The epistemology(s) of volunteered geographic information: a critique, started from a discussion we had about changes within the geographic information science (GIScience) research communities over the … Read More

Geothink Video Interview 3: Our Experts Take on Crowdsourcing

By Drew Bush We’re excited to bring you our long-awaited video interview that features Geothink’s experts discussing issues of authenticity and accuracy with crowdsourced data.  Data collected through crowdsourcing methods increasingly has replaced traditional forms of data collection. This video features Geothink Head Renee Sieber, associate professor in McGill University’s Department of Geography and School of Environment; Daren Brabham, assistant … Read More

Geothoughts Conversations 1: Debating and Defining the Emergent Field of Crowdsourcing Civic Governance

By Drew Bush One of the hallmarks of any academic conference are the conversations that take place in-between sessions, in the hallways and over meals. In our first Geothink Conversations we aim to give you a flavor of these discussions at Geothink’s now concluded 2015 Summer Institute. This month’s conversation features Geothink Head Renee Sieber, associate professor in McGill University’s … Read More

Geothink Researcher Peter Johnson Honored with Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario

By Drew Bush Peter Johnson, assistant professor of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo, was honoured with the Ontario Government’s Early Researcher Award for his project, Measuring the Value and Impact of Open Data. Johnson was one of two professors in his department that were funded. In the project, Johnson will build partnerships with stakeholders, develop case … Read More

A Deeper Dive into Crowdsourcing – Geothink Summer Institute Day 2

By Drew Bush Day two of Geothink’s Summer Institute began with a deeper dive into crowdsourcing led by Robert Goodspeed, assistant professor of Urban Planning at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. In the morning, he presented hot topics in his own research including crowdfunding, formal crowdsourcing and the crisis-mapping tool Ushahidi. “In my world, … Read More

Laying Out the Challenge – Geothink Summer Institute Day 1

By Drew Bush The day began with a warm welcome from Geothink Head Renee Sieber, associate professor in McGill University’s Department of Geography and School of Environment. By afternoon, the City of Ottawa had presented the 29 students attending Geothink’s Summer Institute at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada with the challenge of engaging its citizens with city natural … Read More

Geothink Summer Institute to Kick-off Monday, June 15, 2015!

By Drew Bush Get ready Geothinkers, this year’s Geothink Summer Institute will run from June 15-16, 2015 and will be held at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario. Check in at our Summer Institute web site, where we’ll be live tweeting the day’s events. The agenda is jam-packed with big names in the emergent field of crowdsourcing, which one … Read More