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Volunteered Geographic Information: History
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Subjects: Geography

Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) is geographic information that individuals voluntarily create, collect, or contribute, often through internet platforms and location-enabled digital technologies [1][2]. It enables members of the public, including people without formal training in geography or cartography, to contribute georeferenced observations, descriptions, and mapped features about the Earth’s surface and human activities [1][3]. VGI may include mapped roads and buildings, reports of local conditions, geotagged photographs, and observations about environmental or disaster-related events [1][3][4]. Unlike geographic datasets produced solely by professional mapping agencies, VGI can be generated and updated by distributed contributors, allowing information to be collected across large areas and, in some cases, close to real time [1][2]. However, the quality and representativeness of VGI can vary because contributors differ in their knowledge, methods, activity levels, and geographic coverage [2][3][5]. VGI should therefore be evaluated in relation to positional accuracy, completeness, currency, contributor bias, and the intended use of the data [2][5]. It is widely used in collaborative mapping, citizen science, environmental monitoring, and disaster response, where volunteered observations can supplement other geographic data sources [1][3][4].

  • VGI
  • crowdsourced geographic data
  • citizen science
  • collaborative mapping
  • spatial data quality
  • geographic data collection
  • disaster response

Geographic Information Systems Studies • Geography, Planning and Development • Social Sciences • Social Sciences

References

  1. Michael F. Goodchild; Citizens as sensors: the world of volunteered geography. GeoJournal 2007, 69, 211-221, 10.1007/s10708-007-9111-y.
  2. Michael F. Goodchild; Linna Li; Assuring the quality of volunteered geographic information. Spat. Stat. 2012, 1, 110-120, 10.1016/j.spasta.2012.03.002.
  3. Hansi Senaratne; Amin Mobasheri; Ahmed Loai Ali; Cristina Capineri; Mordechai (Muki) Haklay; A review of volunteered geographic information quality assessment methods. Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci. 2016, 31, 139-167, 10.1080/13658816.2016.1189556.
  4. Guiming Zhang; A-Xing Zhu; The representativeness and spatial bias of volunteered geographic information: a review. Ann. GIS 2018, 24, 151-162, 10.1080/19475683.2018.1501607.
  5. Marina Tavra; Anka Lisec; Morena Galešić Divić; Vlado Cetl; Unpacking the role of volunteered geographic information in disaster management: focus on data quality. Geomat. Nat. Hazards Risk 2024, 15, 1, 10.1080/19475705.2023.2300825.
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