Participatory Mapping Exercise Research Articles

Integrating drones into disaster town watching: Participatory action data collection of local knowledge in Tuguegarao City, Philippines

Disaster town watching comprises a participatory technique by a community to observe, identify, understand, and build resilience to natural or human-induced hazards. Participants walk through their communities, taking notes and imagery for subsequent participatory risk mapping exercises. The goal is to develop a more nuanced and contextualized understanding of the community's state of disaster risk management. This article explores the integration of drones in the acquisition of imagery for disaster town watching. It followed standard practices for conducting disaster town watching research in a community in the Philippines. However, in addition to standard walking teams, one team learned to pilot drone missions, take aerial images, and then interpret them. The imagery they produced elicited more spatially significant relationships between and across features and locations in the community. The types of local knowledge identified differed significantly from that taken from images produced with cellular phones or Google Earth. This study revealed that drone imagery can provide new insights into local knowledge on hazards, vulnerability, and resources and the enhancement of social, economic, and environmental resilience it engenders. Participants build greater confidence in their ability to determine self-help solutions and mutual help countermeasures for enhancing disaster preparedness and community resilience against disaster.

Predictions & perceptions: A social-ecological analysis of human-carnivore conflict in Botswana

Human-carnivore conflict in agrarian landscapes poses a significant threat to both large carnivore populations and human livelihoods. Conservation strategies aimed at mitigating conflict often rely primarily on ecological, landscape-scale factors. However, assessing the influence of microhabitat, as well as local variation in human perceptions, can offer valuable insights into the spatial patterns of human-carnivore conflict. The objectives of this study were to identify landscape predictors of livestock depredation risk, characterize microhabitat vegetation patterns at kill sites, and assess the spatial alignment between ecologically-predicted and human-perceived depredation risk. Through use of predation risk modeling, microhabitat pattern analysis, and participatory mapping exercises, we provide insight into the spatial patterns of livestock depredation risk from a multi-carnivore guild in an agrarian landscape located in the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. We identified 170 depredation events and conducted 63 participatory mapping exercises across community lands situated between two wildlife protected areas. Results indicated anthropogenic landscape variables as the primary drivers of general depredation risk. Notably, distinct spatial patterns emerged between African lion (Panthera leo) and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) depredation, underscoring the need for species-specific conservation strategies. Microhabitat analysis indicated a preference for lower vegetation cover within the multi-predator guild, suggesting livestock microhabitat risk-mitigation behaviors outweigh predator hunting strategies. While human perceptions generally aligned with ecologically predicted risk, identified divergences emphasize the importance of tailored conflict mitigation strategies to accommodate varying influences. Overall, the findings advocate for species-specific depredation risk analyses and the inclusion of human perceptions for a comprehensive spatial understanding of livestock depredation risk.

Perceptions on the distribution, threats, strandings, and conservation of the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) in the Río Dulce National Park, Izabal, Guatemala

The Antillean manatee in Guatemala faces multiple threats resulting from habitat loss and human interactions such as motorboat collisions and poaching. While some conservation efforts have been initiated in Río Dulce National Park (RDNP), there is a lack of studies examining the current perceptions of threats to the species. This knowledge gap may hinder the development of effective conservation strategies that consider both the species and local communities. Our objective was to analyze the perceptions of key local stakeholders concerning the Antillean manatee, including its distribution, threats, attention to strandings, and the current status of conservation in the protected area of RDNP. From July to October 2019, we conducted 50 semi-structured interviews with technicians and river users, such as fishermen and boat captains. Additionally, we held two workshops: one aimed at developing a participatory mapping exercise and another to validate the information. Each workshop was divided into two groups: one for technicians and another for river users. A total of 68 people participated in the workshops, the majority of respondents were male (n = 47), ranging in age from 19 to 71, and predominantly local to the area. Their activities in the river included fishing, biological monitoring, transportation, and providing tourism services. Perceived threats to the Antillean manatee included motorboat collisions, poaching, bycatch, habitat degradation, and water pollution. The focus groups also identified key observations, such as mother-calf sightings, specific areas of risk for manatee-boat collisions, areas with a higher presence of aquatic vegetation, and additional threats such as habitat degradation and poaching. Our results demonstrate that stakeholders possess a fundamental understanding of the manatee, its threats, and its distribution. They also highlight a noticeable lack of knowledge, specifically regarding the attention given to manatee strandings. It is recommended that conservation strategies include environmental education adapted to local conditions, as well as the promotion of manatee studies and their dissemination at the local level, including attention to strandings in the area.

Understanding the spatial dynamics of values and disvalues in the Kaskaskia River Watershed, USA through a social-ecological lens

ABSTRACT Maintaining a resilient and sustainable agro-production system is replete with challenges, because management practices designed to enhance productivity can overlook the range of values derived from ecosystems and concerns about their future. Further complicating the decisions being made about agricultural settings is the variation in social-ecological stressors that shape how diverse community members interpret landscape change. We engaged residents of the Kaskaskia River Watershed in Illinois, USA in discussions about agroecosystems through participatory mapping exercises and focus groups. The spatially explicit data that were derived from this process were then modeled in relation to changes in watershed hydrology simulated using a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. We observed that the four most salient ‘values’ associated with the watershed were recreation, erosion protection, crop production, and flood control. Erosion, siltation and sedimentation, increased flooding, and invasive species were considered the most relevant ‘disvalues’ because they represented the social-ecological stressors of greatest concern. Respondents believed that the values from ecosystems were more spatially clustered than disvalues, and the main river corridor was at greater risk of degradation than the associated tributaries despite these second order streams being more biologically diverse. The use of participatory mapping data coupled with SWAT to simulate changes in systemic responses of the watershed provided a social-ecological basis for identifying high and low-priority locations at a regional scale. Our results therefore aim to spatial prioritize and guide evidence-based decisions anchored in the social and ecological complexities of a Midwestern watershed.

The utilization and contribution of timber and non-timber forest products to livelihoods under a changing climate in the Limpopo River Basin

Forest products contribute immensely to rural livelihoods and household income. However, their contribution to climate change adaptation in semi-arid areas, and the limited ecosystem management capacities of rural communities are poorly examined. We examined the influence and challenges of cash income derived from forest products on livelihoods and climate change adaptation using data from 130 household surveys, 20 participatory mapping exercises, several in-depth interviews, and field observations in the Limpopo Basin of Botswana. Households derived livelihoods and/or income from Mopane caterpillars, firewood, timber, palm plants, wild fruits, thatch, medicinal plants, natural dyes, natural pastures, and game meat. Mopane caterpillars, firewood, and other forest products featured in the top ten sources of household income and contributed weighted monthly income of BWP 1,647.27 ± 1,519.04, BWP 1,110.02 ± 1,980.05, and BWP 780.56 ± 1,360.32, respectively (US$1 ≈ BWP13.4). A higher proportion of households (62.3%) were in the low-income category, earning income below BWP5,000/month. Income derived from Mopane caterpillars and firewood made a significant difference between low-income and high-income households (p = 0.006). Generally, higher proportions of high-income households adopted climate change adaptation measures than proportions in the low-income category, indicating the influence of cash income on household adaptations. However, significant differences were only observed in cropland expansion, purchasing of supplementary livestock feed, drilling boreholes/wells, and use of drip irrigation (p < 0.05). We discuss the potential threats, such as the unsustainable harvesting of forest products, caused by an increasing need for cash incomes and the interconnectedness with distant urban markets. Such threats add to the institutional and biophysical challenges, further limiting prospects for effective adaptation in the Limpopo Basin of Botswana. We call on the government to capacitate and strengthen traditional authorities—as custodians of local resources—in the regulation, management, and conservation of forest products to make them more sustainable adaptation options.

Using participatory mapping for a shared understanding of deforestation dynamics in Murehwa district, Zimbabwe

This paper presents the results of a study using participatory mapping to collectively understand deforestation dynamics in Murehwa, a communal area approximately 90 km northeast of Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city. The study engaged smallholder farmers in a deliberative process through participatory mapping exercises in 15 villages. For each exercise, participants collaboratively drew two maps of their village, one for 1990 and another for 2021. They depict village boundaries, land uses and the magnitude of change between the two dates. Participatory mapping served as a platform for collective thinking, with the resulting maps used to facilitate discussions. They involved comparing land use between the two maps and identifying the drivers of the observed changes. Thematic approach was used to analyse the discussions in order to come up with collectively identified drivers of land use changes. The findings show that deforestation and resulting land use changes are primarily rooted in economic depression, selling of wood, tobacco farming, veld fires, unauthorised wood exploitation, illegal selling of land, increase in gardening, agricultural expansion and population growth. These results lay a foundational step towards the co-construction of a governance framework for practising agriculture in forest-adjacent areas. Moreover, the paper shares methodological reflections and experiences intended to promote initiatives where the construction of a shared understanding facilitates sustainable land-use practices that foster natural resource conservation.

Finding home: Participatory geospatial mapping with Rohingya refugees

Despite decades of using community-based participatory mapping techniques, few studies have documented the oral histories of refugees and other displaced populations suffering from geographical injustices. This study fills the gap by documenting the process of participatory geospatial mapping with Rohingya refugees, a stateless ethnic minority group who fled to Bangladesh in response to ethnic violence in Myanmar, to collect their spatial narratives and migration stories. In this study, participatory mapping exercises were conducted using Google Earth Pro to collect qualitative data from 52 Rohingya adolescents and adults living in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar about their migration experiences. Findings were organized into six key themes including 1) Discrimination and unfair treatment in Myanmar; 2) Forced removal from land and houses being burned by the military; 3) Leaving family and livestock behind; 4) Dangers of migration; 5) Feelings of safety and security in Bangladesh; and 6) Positive elements and happy memories from home. Results from this project indicate that participatory mapping exercises can lend agency to those who have suffered geographical injustices as it helps to process trauma; validate and reframe lived experiences; empower marginalized voices to spur action towards change; and can provide insights to policy makers.

Planning for walkable cities in Africa: Co-producing knowledge on conditions, practices, and strategies

This study sought to unravel the conditions of the walking environment, and residents lived experiences of walking in two urban neighbourhoods in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA). Drawing on a participatory mapping exercise and a total of 70 community and institutional qualitative interviews, the results revealed that the study neighbourhoods have precarious walking conditions manifested by the absence of road markings, inadequate traffic lights and other road-calming infrastructure such as speed ramps. The results also show that previous and current national and local development plans do little to plan for the walking environment. This study demonstrates the impacts of the failure of planning and policy responses to the walking environment on urban residents. In an important stakeholder engagement workshop involving a total of 40 participants, our study brought academics, institutional representatives and residents from the two neighbourhoods together to discuss the findings and establish a stronger collaborative relationship for designing an equitable and sustainable walking environment. Based on the findings from the qualitative interviews and stakeholder engagement workshop, we therefore recommend a community-based participatory planning strategy for improving walkability conditions.

Integrating social values with GPS tracks through Denali National Park and Preserve

This study advanced knowledge of the geospatial relationships between social values elicited during a participatory mapping exercise and on-ground travel patterns understood through Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking of backcountry visitors to a protected area in Alaska. As one of the first studies to combine social values and real-time use of a protected area landscape, we showcase how these combined forms of knowledge can be better understood when compared against biophysical conditions. Contrary to previous research, we observed that perceived social value hotspots, defined by an abundance of point data, did not fully align with use patterns, suggesting that visitors value areas that are not experienced first-hand. Specifically, backcountry travel routes in Denali were less dispersed than areas perceived to be important. Use was mostly concentrated in backcountry units close to the middle sections of the park road while highly valued units coincided with major landmarks, such as the peak of Denali. Travel cost induced by terrain conditions (summarized by elevation, slope and landcover), accessibility (measured by proximity to the park road), and long-view visual resources all contributed to how observed travel behavior deviated from perceived social values. These findings help inform policy and management decisions about outdoor recreation, visitor safety, and visual resource stewardship.

Developing recommendations for coral disease management in Puerto Rico using key informant interviews and participatory mapping

Coral diseases pose one of the greatest threats to sustained coral reef health in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources oversees government-led coral reef conservation initiatives in the archipelago and made coral disease management a priority following the outbreak of stony coral tissue loss disease. This highly virulent and contagious coral disease arrived in Puerto Rico in 2019 and has caused unparalleled coral cover losses. The goal of this study was to use expert local knowledge for the development of coral disease management recommendations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 key informants representing 23 institutions throughout Puerto Rico. Participants were additionally guided through a participatory mapping exercise to identify coral disease field observations and recommend priority monitoring and intervention sites. Interview inductive coding analysis led to the identification of 10 coral disease management recommendations, each of which contain corresponding actions and strategies under four themes: monitoring, intervention, research, and education. Commonly occurring themes amongst interviewee recommendations included collaboration, communication, organization, and local capacity building. Participatory mapping exercises resulted in 193 disease sighting entries containing 778 disease observations, as well as 149 recommendations for priority coral disease monitoring and/or intervention efforts. The most frequently selected criteria for determining priority sites for coral disease intervention and monitoring were ecological importance, chance of recovery, logistical convenience, and high prior monitoring. An integrated assessment based on priority site selection criteria and interviews was used to identify 14 priority locations for monitoring and intervention and 7 priority locations for targeted citizen science outreach. The results of this study are currently being used to inform coral disease management decision making in a way that uses local knowledge, engages diverse partners, and encourages interagency and cross-regional collaborations. This study can be used as a guide for other localities seeking to develop comprehensive and localized marine ecosystem management plans.

Climate Change Adaptation and Built Environment Resilience: East Kolkata Wetland Strategies

In developing countries, poverty alleviation and development are key policy drivers, and ideally these strategies should align with climate change adaptation and resilience as well. This study explores those challenges through an inductive investigation into the East Kolkata Wetland (EKW), the 'wise-use' of wastewater, alignment with climate change adaptation, resilience and poverty alleviation. EKW is a 12,500 ha Ramsar site, close to Kolkata Metropolitan Area in eastern India and connected to Sunderban and the Bay of Bengal. While there are illegal demand-driven developments within EKW, the study explores how planning might provide for development while preserving the critical functions of a wetland. The study addresses three topics: (1) the socio-ecological model; (2) planning approaches to the wetland; and (3) how those might contribute to poverty alleviation. This study of EKW centres on the past and present ecological history of the city and includes analysis of future physical and institutional relations between the city and the wetland. The study benefits from participatory mapping exercises involving indigenous fishing and farming communities.

A participatory tool for assessing land footprint in city-region food systems—A case study from Metropolitan Copenhagen

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of current food systems to feed populations around the world. Particularly in urban centers, consumers have been confronted with this vulnerability, highlighting reliance on just-in-time logistics, imports and distant primary production. Urban food demand, regional food supply, land use change, and transport strategies are considered key factors for reestablishing resilient landscapes as part of a sustainable food system. Improving the sustainability of food systems in such circumstances entails working on the interrelations between food supply and demand, rural and urban food commodity production sites, and groups of involved actors and consumers. Of special significance is the agricultural land in close proximity to urban centers. Calling for more holistic approaches in the sense of inclusiveness, food security, citizen involvement and ecological principles, this article describes the use of a new decision support tool, the Metropolitan Foodscape Planner (MFP). The MFP features up-to-date European datasets to assess the potential of current agricultural land use to provide food resources (with special attention to both plant- and animal-based products) and meet the demand of city dwellers, and help to empower citizens, innovators, companies, public authorities and other stakeholders of regional food systems to build a more regionalized food supply network. The tool was tested in the context of the food system of the Copenhagen City Region in two collaborative workshops, namely one workshop with stakeholders of the Copenhagen City Region representing food consultancies, local planning authorities and researchers, and one in-person workshop masterclass with MSc students from the University of Copenhagen. Workshop participants used the tool to learn about the impacts of the current food system at the regional and international level with regard to the demand-supply paradigm of city-regions. The ultimate goal was to develop a participatory mapping exercise and test three food system scenarios for a more regionalized and sustainable food system and, therefore, with increased resilience to crises. Results from this implementation also demonstrated the potential of the tool to identify food production sites at local level that are potentially able to feed the city region in a more sustainable, nutritious and way.

Symmetrical, non-sovereign cartography as a means for conservation: insights from a participatory forest mapping exercise

Studies of participatory mapping consider it to be a grassroots activity that secures customary rights, the sovereignty of marginalized communities, and as a tool for conservation and sustainable resource management. Political ecology sees such grassroots struggles as sites where multiple (human) groups/actors articulate and contest their knowledge of, and control over, entities called 'resources.' However, 'resources' exclude the role of other-than-humans, thereby perpetuating asymmetrical and anthropocentric ways of knowing and conceptualizing place-based struggles. In the quest for distributive justice, the modern principle of sovereignty also goes unchallenged. Through an ethnographic observation of participatory mapping among the indigenous Gonds of Adilabad in South India, this Grassroots article shows that by incorporating other-than-human actors as equal agents of conservation, the Gonds have produced a non-sovereign, symmetrical map that challenges notions of human sovereignty over a seemingly inert 'nature.' Grassroots mapping can include other-than-humans, making it a potent exercise in revealing and articulating more-than-human ways of conservation.

Catchment-Scale Participatory Mapping Identifies Stakeholder Perceptions of Land and Water Management Conflicts

Competing socioecological demands and pressures on land and water resources have the potential to increase land use conflict. Understanding ecosystem service provisioning and trade-offs, competing land uses, and conflict between stakeholder groups in catchments is therefore critical to inform catchment management and the sustainable use of natural resources. We developed a novel stakeholder engagement methodology that incorporates participatory conflict mapping in three catchments with a short questionnaire to identify the perceptions of 43 participants from four key land and water management stakeholder groups: environmental regulators, water industry practitioners, the farm advisor community, and academics. The participatory mapping exercise produced heat maps of perceived conflict and land use competition, providing spatial detail of the complex combination of land use issues faced by catchment managers. Distinct, localised hotspots were identified in areas under pressure from flooding, abstraction, and urbanisation; as well as more dispersed issues of relevance at the landscape scale, such as from farming, forestry, energy production, and tourism. Subsequent regression modelling linked perceived conflict to land cover maps and identified coastal, urban, and grassland areas as the most likely land cover types associated with conflict in the study catchments. Our approach to participatory conflict mapping provides a novel platform for catchment management and can facilitate increased cooperation among different catchment stakeholders. In turn, land and water management conflicts can be recognised and their underlying drivers and likely solutions identified in an effort to better manage competing demands on catchment resources.

A triangulation approach for assessing and mapping land degradation in the Lepellane catchment of the greater Sekhukhune District, South Africa

ABSTRACT Land degradation is a complex environmental problem that requires robust decision-making processes that embrace diversity of local indigenous knowledge. Participatory approaches are essential in capturing the complexity in land degradation processes while overcoming limitations presented by scientific methods that disregard socio-economic factors. Hence, the triangulation approach can be used to combine participatory expert maps with satellite imagery by overlaying both maps to enhance understanding of land degradation. This study incorporated social and physical factors that cause land degradation through an expert assessment. This was achieved through a participatory expert mapping exercise using the World Overview Conservation Approaches and Technology (WOCAT) mapping questionnaire and remote sensing techniques to map land degradation severity that was integrated by overlaying, i.e. triangulation approach. The WOCAT results were validated using field observations and discussions on land covers. Climatic variability, improper soil management and unsustainable land-use practices were identified as leading causes of land degradation while soil erosion and loss of vegetation cover were the perceived prominent types of land degradation. The land degradation severity modelling assessment achieved an accuracy of R2 0.86, RMSE 7.72 and relRMSE 12.94% in estimating bare soil cover, which was used as an indicator of potential land degradation severity. Variables such as leaf area index (LAI) and soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) were essential in determining degraded landscapes. The severity maps indicated that low-lying areas are moderately degraded due to overgrazing. The study concluded that a triangulation approach provides a better understanding of land degradation.

The Technopolitics of Mapping Dar es Salaam: An examination of the technological and political motivations of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team

Mapping has long formed a key part of development work, from recording household surveys, participatory mapping exercises, and PRA projects. Now though the sector is full of new actors- mapping and tech companies as well as NGOs- monitoring through drones and satellite images, alongside employing more traditional methods. Many of these new players were born from NGOs and companies who started as ‘crisis mappers. Short-term ‘crisis mapping’ projects have become a regular part of humanitarian response following a disaster. The short-term nature of such actions, and the need for stable employment/profits, has led to an increasing trend for the same organizations and companies to either remain on the ground producing maps or to move into new areas as part of a pre-emptive mapping practice, inserting themselves into the wider international development ecosystem. This research, centered on Tanzania, examines how HOTOSM has attempted to pivot towards working as a development organization that creates maps for prevention of crisis, but also wider socio-economic outputs. The research used interviews to explore the interplay between technology and micro/macro politics around the mapping of Dar es Salaam. Examining how HOTOSM its role, and how they position their map-making within the context of Dar es Salaam. Findings suggest that HOTOSM is still underdeveloped as an organization and lacks the maturity to create true participatory models of working.

Incorporating local ecological knowledge aids participatory mapping for marine conservation and customary fishing management

Local ecological knowledge provides novel, detailed and context-specific information about human and non-human use of marine ecosystems, therefore incorporating this knowledge into marine conservation planning is crucial. Participatory mapping offers an opportunity to include local knowledge in spatial planning for natural resource management. However, local knowledge presents certain challenges in the form of data inconsistencies, fuzziness, and inability to disaggregate different types and formats of knowledge. Using the case of fisheries in southern Maharashtra state, India, I demonstrate how local ecological knowledge may be used to improve the understanding of data-poor fisheries. In the context of fisheries that are globally recognised as lacking management, I examine how local ecological and spatial knowledge about species and fishing practices can be used to fill fine-scale management gaps that do not account for context-specific habitat use. I also explore how fishers’spatial knowledge is intertwined with other forms of local knowledge. The participatory mapping exercise demonstrates that although fishing communities do not profess to be interested in threatened marine species conservation, their spatial and customary fishing practices potentially align with conservation goals. Clear synergies between livelihoods and marine conservation emerge when using local ecological knowledge along with participatory mapping. This research demonstrates that successful fisheries management and marine conservation planning is possible using existing social, cultural practices, translated through geographic tools.

A transdisciplinary engagement with Australian Aboriginal water and the hydrology of a small bedrock island

ABSTRACT Yolŋu Aboriginal people’s knowledge about water (“gapu”) and its governance has strong cultural significance and meaning in East Arnhem Land Aboriginal worlds in northern Australia. This study used transdisciplinary research methods to explore the ways in which Yolŋu Aboriginal gapu and Western science hydrological knowledge can work together and contribute towards water management on Milingimbi Island, a small, resource-constrained, bedrock island. Transcending disciplinary boundaries is distinctly different to an interdisciplinary, socio-hydrological perspective, which can pose a risk to hybridizing Aboriginal knowledge and Western science. Community engagement activities and workshops were conducted as part of a three-year research project to bring together the incommensurable knowledge communities. A participatory three-dimensional mapping exercise created a shared space, facilitating an open-dialogue exchange of insight and knowledge among Aboriginal knowledge authorities, hydrologists, public servants, and academic researchers. This paper prompts readers to reconsider the ways water can be perceived and conserved in a decolonizing way.

Assessing the dynamics of urban vulnerability to climate change: Case of Helsinki, Finland

Future climate risk is not only dependent on future climatic changes but also on how exposure and vulnerability develop in the future. There is a gap in understanding what drives future climate vulnerability, and how to account for its spatial emergence. This issue is particularly pertinent for cities due to the concentration of assets and population at risk, and rapid socio-economic and land use changes. We develop a mixed methods approach, which integrates quantitative, qualitative and participatory methods to (1) identify internal and external drivers of socio-economic development and land use change, (2) explore a range of future pathways using local socio-economic scenarios, and (3) visualize changes in vulnerability indicators with the help of a participatory mapping exercise. We test the approach in the City of Helsinki with the timeframe up to 2050. Our results show the connections between the drivers and changes in vulnerability indicators, while maps developed in a stakeholder workshop visualize the potential spatial changes in indicators. Our approach of connecting indicators, drivers and adaptation/planning needs, as well as scenario analysis, provides a deeper understanding of vulnerability dynamics as a process and provides insights for different sectors of urban policy and planning.

Young girls’ experiences of ‘good’ food imperatives in a working class school community: rethinking food desire?

ABSTRACT Education policy internationally positions schools as central sites of intervention on ‘obesity epidemics’, particularly in working class communities. This article presents a moral geographies approach which examines how such obesity-focused healthy food imperatives are experienced in specific places and times. The authors draw on data from a participatory photo mapping exercise with 11-year-old girls in a working class school setting in Ireland. Rather than focus on the girls’ food consumption through classed, deficit-based discourses of individual restraint or pleasure, they consider their food desires to be an ethico-political force for connection, identification and potential reconstruction of what constitutes ‘good’ food. The participants were adept at performing officially ‘good’ food knowledge, but also constructed food-based identities and relationships that challenged prevailing, individualised imperatives to ‘make healthy choices’. The findings underline the importance of critical pedagogies of food desire, which could engage factors such as the strengths of family and community food cultures.