Collecting spatial information using Twitter

How do you engage people to communicate important information about their environment?
Most of the collection-type methods developed for crowdsourcing information on the field such as epicollect, require the installation of a specific app, or logging-in to a specific account and some training by the users. Logging-in into specific systems make apps temporary, only used for the specific time that they are required. However if we want to engage a continuous dialogue, we should think about applications that are constantly accessible by the user.

As such, twitter, has become very popular over the years and we found that it was already used by some of the mappers. Social Networks have already been used by official parties to explore the possibilities of communication with the public. However, up to this point, there was no customized real-time collection system.

The BigDataToolKit developed by Steven Gray in CASA UCL was used to collect real-time the different twits that related with specific spatial problems. The system is not User ID dependent which makes it ideal for the purposes of emergency reporting by participants using their own systems. The collector allows storing of critical information provided by the user with also the ability of including media such as photos. In the field work of Barrios Altos, the system was extremely useful for submitting uncategorized information such as cellphone antennas but also reporting illegal storage spaces. Moreover, a very important use of twitter in this project, is the use of its real-time nature for emergency reporting such as the cases of evictions in Barrios Altos. Results shown above!
If you want to be among the first to collect data from your social network, you can try it here.

And together, it happened.

Monday 10th February PM. And so we close this first workshop 'Mapeando desde el Cielo, Mapeando desde el Suelo' (Mapping from the Sky, Mapping from the Ground); but not before agreeing the plan of action until we meet again in April 2014. This has truly been one of the most enriching learning experience.

Refining the variables

Monday 10th February PM. We come together in a plenary with the mappers from Barrios Altos and Jose Carlos Mariategui to share fieldwork experiences. The reflections made pointed to the importance of making visible what is already known, but also the discovery of new aspects through the transect walks. For many, the technical input was appreciated as a means of gathering the information in a systematic way. But more so, the mapping workshop is appreciated for highlighting the need and importance of organization amongst the inhabitants; this, not only to resist unwanted change, but drive the desired visions for the respective areas.

We revisit all the variables previously discussed with the mappers. Having undertaken the transect walks, those that need refining become evident. We discuss and contextualise these further in preparation for phase two in April.

3D Reconstruction

We are starting the reconstruction of the 3d model and so far its looking great. Model will be sent remotely to London for further processing and printing.  

Making the contradictions visible

Sunday 9th February AM- The mapping team prepares to walk the landscape in three areas. Tracing and juxtaposing  the borders of the current occupation, the proposed limit in certified plans, and the foreseen future expansion for each of the 'Agrupacion Familiar', reveals a complex and contested field of actors. As described by one of the mappers these include, the first comer, the corrupt, the tourist and the newcomer.

A struggle to transpose the plan prepared by a quantity surveyor, devoid of any reference to the topography, onto the aerial photograph. The disjuncture between these two is stark.

Combing Barrios Altos

Saturday 9th February AM. We divide in teams, working on either side of the chosen axis and stopping at key points to gather more detailed information. This pilot walk reveals that the labyrinthine typology of the buildings in Barrios Altos hides many aspects such as land use, that cannot be noted through observation only from the street. The pilot walk is seen as key to refine the research questions, the information to be gathered and the method.

While mapping, the leaders of Barrios Altos, also take this opportunity to reach out to their neighbours and inform them about how to acquire basic services as well as resist eviction.

A closer look

Barrios Altos Area today. Image via Drone Adventures.

Sunday 9 February PM. Incredible results from Drone Adventures! These "close to real-time" updated images were incredibly valuable in yesterdays and today's field work, as people depended on the aerials captured from the mapping drone to define critical territorial borders in areas undergoing otherwise 'invisible' change..

These limits were later mapped in greater detail by local mappers, who walked the boundaries using GPS trackers. Details on the field trip in JMC and Barrios Altos to follow..