Rewiring for a GIS/2

• Published in: Cartographica Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 25 - 39
• Main Author: Sieber, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Toronto Press 01.03.2004
• Subjects: Geographic information systems; Social change
• ISSN: 0317-7173; 1911-9925
• DOI: 10.3138/T6U8-171M-452W-516R

Increasing numbers of activist non-profits and traditionally marginalized peoples are adopting gis as a tool for social change. Its use is scrutinized by academics who worry that gis embodies a mechanism for misrepresentation, diversion, control, and surveillance. This critique has not slowed adoption, and for the past decade researchers have been investigating the use and value of gis in a variety of non-profits and citizens' groups. Many of these new users are calling for a different kind of gis — a gis/2. This gis must be able to represent different measures and visions of place and integrate local knowledge, support cultural and multi-lingual distinctions, and preserve — rather than reduce — friction, disagreement, redundancy, and even error. In this paper I argue that one must "rewire gis" — that is, engage the code and the coding directly — to build a gis/2. A literature review on the use and value of gis in social movements, activist non-profits, and citizens' groups illustrates the limitations of current gis and the necessary ingredients for a more inclusive gis/2. I present four approaches, which are framed materially and discursively. Three approaches modify existing gis to achieve a gis/2. A fourth systems design approach is proposed, which incorporates two innovations in computing science: Unified Modelling Language (uml) and eXtensible Markup Language (xml). This prototype is sensitized to the needs of social movement, nonprofit, and citizens' organizations. These four approaches, used separately or in conjunction, serve as blueprints for further discussions on the rewiring of gis.