<s>
Participatory	B-Application
GIS	I-Application
(	O
PGIS	B-Application
)	O
or	O
public	B-Application
participation	I-Application
geographic	I-Application
information	I-Application
system	I-Application
(	O
PPGIS	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
participatory	O
approach	O
to	O
spatial	O
planning	O
and	O
spatial	O
information	O
and	O
communications	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PGIS	B-Application
combines	O
Participatory	O
Learning	O
and	O
Action	O
(	O
PLA	O
)	O
methods	O
with	O
geographic	B-Application
information	I-Application
systems	I-Application
(	O
GIS	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PGIS	B-Application
combines	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
geo-spatial	O
information	O
management	O
tools	O
and	O
methods	O
such	O
as	O
sketch	O
maps	O
,	O
participatory	O
3D	O
modelling	O
(	O
P3DM	O
)	O
,	O
aerial	O
photography	O
,	O
satellite	O
imagery	O
,	O
and	O
global	O
positioning	O
system	O
(	O
GPS	O
)	O
data	O
to	O
represent	O
peoples	O
 '	O
spatial	O
knowledge	O
in	O
the	O
forms	O
of	O
(	O
virtual	O
or	O
physical	O
)	O
two	O
-	O
or	O
three-dimensional	O
maps	O
used	O
as	O
interactive	O
vehicles	O
for	O
spatial	O
learning	O
,	O
discussion	O
,	O
information	O
exchange	O
,	O
analysis	O
,	O
decision	O
making	O
and	O
advocacy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Participatory	B-Application
GIS	I-Application
implies	O
making	O
geographic	O
technologies	O
available	O
to	O
disadvantaged	O
groups	O
in	O
society	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
enhance	O
their	O
capacity	O
in	O
generating	O
,	O
managing	O
,	O
analysing	O
and	O
communicating	O
spatial	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PGIS	B-Application
practice	O
is	O
geared	O
towards	O
community	O
empowerment	O
through	O
measured	O
,	O
demand-driven	O
,	O
user-friendly	O
and	O
integrated	O
applications	O
of	O
geo-spatial	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS-based	O
maps	O
and	O
spatial	O
analysis	O
become	O
major	O
conduits	O
in	O
the	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
good	O
PGIS	B-Application
practice	O
is	O
embedded	O
into	O
long-lasting	O
spatial	O
decision-making	O
processes	O
,	O
is	O
flexible	O
,	O
adapts	O
to	O
different	O
socio-cultural	O
and	O
bio-physical	O
environments	O
,	O
depends	O
on	O
multidisciplinary	O
facilitation	O
and	O
skills	O
and	O
builds	O
essentially	O
on	O
visual	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
importantly	O
,	O
by	O
placing	O
control	O
of	O
access	O
and	O
use	O
of	O
culturally	O
sensitive	O
spatial	O
information	O
in	O
the	O
hands	O
of	O
those	O
who	O
generated	O
them	O
,	O
PGIS	B-Application
practice	O
could	O
protect	O
traditional	O
knowledge	O
and	O
wisdom	O
from	O
external	O
exploitation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PPGIS	B-Application
is	O
meant	O
to	O
bring	O
the	O
academic	O
practices	O
of	O
GIS	B-Application
and	O
mapping	O
to	O
the	O
local	O
level	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
promote	O
knowledge	O
production	O
by	O
local	O
and	O
non-governmental	O
groups	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
idea	O
behind	O
PPGIS	B-Application
is	O
empowerment	O
and	O
inclusion	O
of	O
marginalized	O
populations	O
,	O
who	O
have	O
little	O
voice	O
in	O
the	O
public	O
arena	O
,	O
through	O
geographic	O
technology	O
education	O
and	O
participation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PPGIS	B-Application
uses	O
and	O
produces	O
digital	O
maps	O
,	O
satellite	O
imagery	O
,	O
sketch	O
maps	O
,	O
and	O
many	O
other	O
spatial	O
and	O
visual	O
tools	O
,	O
to	O
change	O
geographic	O
involvement	O
and	O
awareness	O
on	O
a	O
local	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Attendees	O
to	O
the	O
Mapping	O
for	O
Change	O
International	O
Conference	O
on	O
Participatory	O
Spatial	O
Information	O
Management	O
and	O
Communication	O
conferred	O
to	O
at	O
least	O
three	O
potential	O
implications	O
of	O
PPGIS	B-Application
;	O
it	O
can	O
:	O
(	O
1	O
)	O
enhance	O
capacity	O
in	O
generating	O
,	O
managing	O
,	O
and	O
communicating	O
spatial	O
information	O
;	O
(	O
2	O
)	O
stimulate	O
innovation	O
;	O
and	O
ultimately	O
;	O
(	O
3	O
)	O
encourage	O
positive	O
social	O
change	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
reflects	O
on	O
the	O
rather	O
nebulous	O
definition	O
of	O
PPGIS	B-Application
as	O
referenced	O
in	O
the	O
Encyclopedia	O
of	O
GIS	B-Application
which	O
describes	O
PPGIS	B-Application
as	O
having	O
a	O
definition	O
problem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
applications	O
for	O
PPGIS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Marginalized	O
groups	O
,	O
be	O
they	O
grassroots	O
organizations	O
to	O
indigenous	O
populations	O
could	O
benefit	O
from	O
GIS	B-Application
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
current	O
extent	O
of	O
PPGIS	B-Application
programs	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
has	O
been	O
evaluated	O
by	O
Sawicki	O
and	O
Peterman	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
catalog	O
over	O
60	O
PPGIS	B-Application
programs	O
who	O
aid	O
in	O
"	O
public	O
participation	O
in	O
community	O
decision	O
making	O
by	O
providing	O
local-area	O
data	O
to	O
community	O
groups	O
,	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
have	O
been	O
several	O
projects	O
where	O
university	O
students	O
help	O
implement	O
GIS	B-Application
in	O
neighborhoods	O
and	O
communities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
two	O
approaches	O
to	O
PPGIS	B-Application
use	O
and	O
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
two	O
perspectives	O
,	O
top	O
–	O
down	O
and	O
bottom	O
–	O
up	O
,	O
are	O
the	O
currently	O
debated	O
schism	O
in	O
PPGIS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Sieber	O
(	O
2006	O
)	O
,	O
PPGIS	B-Application
was	O
first	O
envisioned	O
as	O
a	O
means	O
of	O
mapping	O
individuals	O
by	O
many	O
social	O
and	O
economic	O
demographic	O
factors	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
analyze	O
the	O
spatial	O
differences	O
in	O
access	O
to	O
social	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
She	O
refers	O
to	O
this	O
kind	O
of	O
PPGIS	B-Application
as	O
top-down	O
,	O
being	O
that	O
it	O
is	O
less	O
hands	O
on	O
for	O
the	O
public	O
,	O
but	O
theoretically	O
serves	O
the	O
public	O
by	O
making	O
adjustments	O
for	O
the	O
deficiencies	O
,	O
and	O
improvements	O
in	O
public	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
current	O
trend	O
with	O
academic	O
involvement	O
in	O
PPGIS	B-Application
,	O
is	O
researching	O
existing	O
programs	O
,	O
and	O
or	O
starting	O
programs	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
collect	O
data	O
on	O
the	O
effectiveness	O
of	O
PPGIS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Elwood	O
(	O
2006	O
)	O
in	O
The	O
Professional	O
Geographer	O
,	O
talks	O
in	O
depth	O
about	O
the	O
"	O
everyday	O
inclusions	O
,	O
exclusions	O
,	O
and	O
contradictions	O
of	O
Participatory	B-Application
GIS	I-Application
research.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
research	O
is	O
being	O
conducted	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
evaluate	O
if	O
PPGIS	B-Application
is	O
involving	O
the	O
public	O
equally	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
reference	O
to	O
Sieber	O
's	O
top-down	O
PPGIS	B-Application
,	O
this	O
is	O
a	O
counter	O
method	O
of	O
PPGIS	B-Application
,	O
rightly	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
bottom-up	O
PPGIS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
purpose	O
is	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
the	O
public	O
to	O
let	O
them	O
learn	O
the	O
technologies	O
,	O
then	O
producing	O
their	O
own	O
GIS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Public	B-Application
participation	I-Application
GIS	I-Application
is	O
defined	O
by	O
Sieber	O
as	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
geographic	B-Application
information	I-Application
systems	I-Application
to	O
broaden	O
public	O
involvement	O
in	O
policymaking	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
to	O
the	O
value	O
of	O
GIS	B-Application
to	O
promote	O
the	O
goals	O
of	O
nongovernmental	O
organizations	O
,	O
grassroots	O
groups	O
and	O
community-based	O
organizations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
would	O
seem	O
on	O
the	O
surface	O
that	O
PPGIS	B-Application
,	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
commonly	O
referred	O
to	O
,	O
in	O
this	O
sense	O
would	O
be	O
of	O
a	O
beneficial	O
nature	O
to	O
those	O
in	O
the	O
community	O
or	O
area	O
that	O
is	O
being	O
represented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Is	O
PPGIS	B-Application
becoming	O
more	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
underprivileged	O
sector	O
of	O
the	O
community	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
PPGIS	B-Application
applied	O
to	O
participatory	O
community/neighborhood	O
planning	O
has	O
been	O
examined	O
by	O
many	O
others	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Spatial	O
databases	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
P-mapping	O
are	O
used	O
to	O
maintain	O
a	O
public	O
records	O
GIS	B-Application
or	O
community	O
land	O
information	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
just	O
a	O
few	O
of	O
the	O
uses	O
of	O
GIS	B-Application
in	O
the	O
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
involves	O
using	O
GIS	B-Application
and	O
multi-criteria	O
decision	O
analysis	O
(	O
MCDA	O
)	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
decision	O
about	O
wind	O
farm	O
siting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
a	O
multi-criteria	O
spatial	O
decision	B-Application
support	I-Application
system	I-Application
stakeholders	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
voice	O
concerns	O
and	O
work	O
on	O
a	O
compromise	O
solution	O
to	O
have	O
final	O
outcome	O
accepted	O
by	O
majority	O
when	O
siting	O
wind	O
farms	O
.	O
</s>
