Politics of Scale and Networks of Association in Public Participation GIS

Abstract

The public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) research agenda has explored the issue of equitable access and use of geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial data among traditionally marginalized citizens, in order to facilitate effective citizen participation in inner-city revitalization activities. However, prior research indicates that PPGIS is a complex process, with uneven outcomes. The author contends that such unevenness can be explained by use of a new theoretical framework drawn from the literature of politics of scale and networks. The author contends that the PPGIS process occurs in ‘spaces of dependence’, containing localized social relations and place-specific conditions. The politics of securing this space leads to the creation of ‘spaces of engagement’ at multiple scales. Within these spaces, networks of association evolve to connect multiple actors from public and private sectors with community organizations. Such networks can contain structural inequities, hierarchical dominance, and fluctuating resources. But these networks also transcend political boundaries and are dynamic and flexible, enabling individuals to manipulate and modify them. In trying to control the revitalization agendas and the material resources required, the actors and community organizations construct politics of scale. For some community organizations, such scalar politics and creative alliances with critical actors allow them to navigate territorially scaled networks of power skillfully in order to gain an effective voice in decisionmaking activities. But other community organizations lag behind, and are not able to form relationships in order to secure their urban space. By the use of new empirical data, coupled with a new theoretical framework, the author aims to contribute both to greater theorization and to better understanding of the uneven and contradictory nature of PPGIS processes.