Participatory GIS
Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS), and the related Public Participation GIS (PPGIS), are approaches in which communities themselves create and use spatial data and maps to represent local spatial knowledge for resource management, land and resource tenure, and planning. Spanning a continuum from sketch mapping with sticks and stones on the ground to georeferenced data held in formal GIS, the approach merges the empowering ethos of participatory development, articulated by Robert Chambers, with the analytical and communicative power of geographic information technology.
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Method map
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Sources
- Chambers, R. (2006). Participatory Mapping and Geographic Information Systems: Whose Map? Who is Empowered and Who Disempowered? Who Gains and Who Loses? The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 25(1), 1-11. DOI: 10.1002/j.1681-4835.2006.tb00163.x ↗
- Corbett, J. (2009). Good Practices in Participatory Mapping: A Review Prepared for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Rome: IFAD. link ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 22). Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS / PPGIS) for Development. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/development-studies/participatory-gis-development
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- Participatory MappingAnthropology↔ compare
- Participatory Rural AppraisalAnthropology↔ compare
- Spatial Poverty MappingDevelopment Studies↔ compare
- Stakeholder Analysis for DevelopmentDevelopment Studies↔ compare