Participatory mapping: Workshop to assess the online tool
On Wednesday 17 May, some twenty-odd people, including representatives from local institutions and staff of municipal and supramunicipal authorities, attended the workshop organised by Viu la riera to present the participatory maps generated by the web-based tool Viu la riera-PPGIS
The session took place in the Centre for Economic Development in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda and was divided into three parts.
First, the moderators explained the benefits of Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) when making decisions about planning and managing open spaces in participatory processes.
The attendees then had the opportunity to use the tool, designed specifically for the Caldes Stream, in the two phases that are currently active: Comment (for entering opinions about the places the public likes, does not like and ideas for improvement) and We decide (for viewing and filtering the opinions by different fields, with the option of voting on ways to improve the area and engaging in debate on the comments online). At the end of the participatory session, the third and final phase of the tool was unveiled: Get involved. This phase, which is still being worked on, was shown to attendees so that they could provide input as to its design.
The third and final part of the workshop included two round tables in which each attendee could assess the usefulness of the tool and propose means of improvement. As for the tool’s usability, all agreed that it was highly intuitive and user friendly. In terms of usefulness, most pointed to its potential for monitoring public opinion and pinpointing problems as a first step towards improving the area around the stream. During the debate, a series of ideas for improvement were put forth, including the option to post photos related to other applications or download graphs that summarise the opinions by specific stretches.
The session ended with refreshments, at which point the attendees from the various towns had a chance to share initiatives associated with improving the Caldes Stream in a more relaxed atmosphere.
'Viu la riera!’ is a project promoted by the RIL Research Group, made up of researchers from the ESARQ - School of Architecture at UIC Barcelona, and the University of Girona's Institute of the Environment. It is supported by RecerCaixa, a joint programme of the Obra Social "la Caixa", the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.