Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Geocrowdsourcing and accessibility for dynamic environments

  • Published:
GeoJournal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A consequence of modern society’s increasing reliance on digital communication is the concurrent multiplication and narrowing of information streams, with many channels of digital information, but channels which are difficult or impossible for some individuals to access. Blind and visually-impaired individuals are often left out of this communication, unless accommodations are carefully planned and made to present the information in a usable form. The context of this research is the realm of assistive geotechnology, where web mapping technology and geographic information systems are used to provide access to enabling information and services. This paper presents research on the development of tools to provide transient obstacle information to blind, visually-impaired, and mobility-impaired individuals through crowdsourcing, and research on the general accessibility of local pedestrian networks under constraints presented by transient and permanent navigation obstacles. We discuss the social and technological dynamics associated with the creation and use of our crowdsourcing system and present our effort for comprehensive quality assessment. We conclude that crowdsourcing is a crucial technique for successful deployment of assistive geotechnology, particularly those that involve navigation, wayfinding, and travel in public space. We find that many public health services and other important resources cannot be accessed dependably without the use of crowdsourcing and other techniques for capturing dynamic, changing environmental conditions. More broadly, this paper concludes by addressing the progression of user-generated and crowdsourced content from static data contributions to dynamic place-based services and the enabling role of assistive geotechnology in providing access and help to blind, visually-impaired, and mobility-impaired individuals.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aburizaiza, A.O., & Rice, M.T. (2011). VGI and Geotechnology for supporting blind and vision-impaired people using a localized gazetteer”, FOSS4G: Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial, 2011, Sheraton Denver Downtown, Denver, Colorado. Academic track—Spruce room, September 16, 2011.

  • ADA Standards for Accessible Design (2010). ADA.gov Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act: ADA Standards for Accessible Design. http://www.ada.gov/2010ADAstandards_index.htm. Accessed 25 May 2014.

  • Archer, K. (2014) Many silver line riders have no way to safely reach their offices. Blog. Greater Greater Washington, July 29, 2014. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/23772/many-silver-line-riders-have-no-way-to-safely-reach-their-offices/.

  • Archer, K. (2014). The South Side of Tysons Boulevard and Galleria Drive. JPEG image, July 29, 2014. http://greatergreaterwashington.org/image.cgi?src=201407/290952.jpg&ref=23772.

  • Avila, K. (2014). The experiences of pedestrians with visual impairments in a metropolitan setting: An ethnographic inquiry. In Proceedings, Biannual International Conference of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Presented at the Biannual International Conference of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired, San Antonio, TX.

  • Barbeau, S. J., Winters, P. L., Georggi, N. L., Labrador, M. A., & Perez, R. (2010). Travel assistance device: utilising global positioning system-enabled mobile phones to aid transit riders with special needs. Intelligent Transport Systems, IET, 4(1), 12–23. Accessed 30 July 2012.

  • Beale, L., Field, K., Briggs, D., Picton, P., & Matthews, H. (2006). Mapping for wheelchair users: Route navigation in urban spaces. The Cartographic Journal, 43(1), 68–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, M., Lin, H., Liu, D., Zhang, H., & Yue, S. (2015). An object-oriented data model built for blind navigation in outdoor space. Applied Geography, 60, 84–94. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.03.004.

  • Chen, M., Lin, H., Lu, G., He, L., & Wen, Y. (2011). A spatial-temporal framework for historical and cultural research on China. Applied Geography, 31(3), 1059–1074. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2011.01.022.

  • Church, R. L. (2002). Geographical information systems and location science. Computers & Operations Research, 29(6), 541–562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Church, R. L., & Marston, J. R. (2003). Measuring accessibility for people with a disability. Geographical Analysis, 35(1), 83–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cinnamon, J., & Schuurman, N. (2013). Confronting the data-divide in a time of spatial turns and volunteered geographic information. GeoJournal, 78(4), 657–674. doi:10.1007/s10708-012-9458-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coulsen, M., Riger, M., & Wheate, R. (1991). Progress in creating tactile maps from Geographic Information Systems output. In Mapping the Nations, 15th Conference and 9th General Assembly (Vol. 1). Presented at the International Cartographic Conference, Bournemouth, UK.

  • Curtin, K. M., Hayslett-McCall, K., & Qiu, F. (2005). Determining optimal police patrol areas with maximal covering and backup covering location models. Networks and Spatial Economics, 10(1), 125–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elwood, S. (2008). Volunteered geographic information: key questions, concepts and methods to guide emerging research and practice. GeoJournal, 72(3–4), 133–135. doi:10.1007/s10708-008-9187-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elwood, S., Goodchild, M. F., & Sui, D. Z. (2012). Researching volunteered geographic information: Spatial data, geographic research, and new social practice. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 102(3), 571–590. doi:10.1080/00045608.2011.595657.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elwood, S., Goodchild, M. F., & Sui, D. (2013). Prospects for VGI research and the emerging fourth paradigm. In D. Sui, S. Elwood, & M. F. Goodchild (Eds.), Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge (pp. 361–375). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/index/10.1007/978-94-007-4587-2_20.

  • Eriksson, Y. (2001). How to make tactile maps discriminable to touch. In Proceedings of the 20th International Cartography Conference (pp. 2914–2922). Beijing, China.

  • Garreau, J. (1991). Edge cities: Life on the new frontier. New York: Doubleday.

    Google Scholar 

  • Girres, J. F., & Touya, G. (2010). Quality assessment of the French OpenStreetMap dataset. Transactions in GIS, 14(4), 435–459. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9671.2010.01203.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golledge, R. G., (1999). Wayfinding behavior: Cognitive mapping and other spatial processes. JHU Press.

  • Golledge, R. G. (2001) Convocation address, Simon Fraser University, 6 June 2001.

  • Golledge, R. G., Jacobson, R. D., Kitchin, R., & Blades, M. (2000). Cognitive maps, spatial abilities, and human wayfinding. Geographical Review of Japan Series B, 73(2), 93–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodchild, M. F. (2007). Citizens as sensors: The world of volunteered geography. GeoJournal, 69(4), 211–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodchild, M. F. (2009). NeoGeography and the nature of geographic expertise. Journal of Location Based Services, 3(2), 82–96. doi:10.1080/17489720902950374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodchild, M. F., & Gopal, S. (1989). The Accuracy of spatial databases. London; New York: Taylor & Francis.

  • Goodchild, M. F., & Li, L. (2012). Assuring the quality of volunteered geographic information. Spatial Statistics, 1, 110–120. doi:10.1016/j.spasta.2012.03.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guptill, S. C., & Morrison, J. L. (1995). Elements of spatial data quality (Vol. 202). Elsevier Science Oxford.

  • Haklay, M. (2010). How good is volunteered geographical information? A comparative study of OpenStreetMap and ordnance survey datasets. Environment and Planning. B, Planning & design, 37(4), 682. Accessed 5 Aug 2014.

  • Haklay, M., Basiouka, S., Antoniou, V., & Ather, A. (2010). How many volunteers does it take to map an area well? The validity of Linus’ law to volunteered geographic information. The Cartographic Journal, 47(4), 315–322. doi:10.1179/000870410X12911304958827.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, G. J., & Beard, K. (1992). Understanding error in spatial databases. Australian Surveyor, 37(2), 108–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, R. D. (1998). Cognitive mapping without sight: Four preliminary studies of spatial learning. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18(3), 289–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karimi, H. A., & Kasemsuppakorn, P. (2013). Pedestrian network map generation approaches and recommendation. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 27(5), 947–962.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karimi, H. A., Zhang, L., & Benner, J. G. (2014). Personalized accessibility map (PAM): A novel assisted wayfinding approach for people with disabilities. Annals of GIS, 20(2), 99–108. doi:10.1080/19475683.2014.904438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasemsuppakorn, P., & Karimi, H. A. (2009). Personalised routing for wheelchair navigation. Journal of Location Based Services, 3(1), 24–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulyukin, V. A., Nicholson, J., Ross, D. A., Marston, J. R., & Gaunet, F. (2008). The blind leading the blind: Toward collaborative online route information management by individuals with visual impairments. In AAAI Spring Symposium: Social Information Processing (pp. 54–59).

  • Laakso, M., Sarjakoski, T., Lehto, L., & Sarjakoski, L. T. (2013). An information model for pedestrian routing and navigation databases supporting universal accessibility. Cartographica: The International Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization, 48(2), 89–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laakso, M., Sarjakoski, T., & Sarjakoski, L. T. (2011). Improving accessibility information in pedestrian maps and databases. Cartographica: The International Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization, 46(2), 101–108.

  • Loomis, J. M., Golledge, R. G., & Klatzky, R. L. (2001). GPS-based navigation systems for the visually impaired. Fundamentals of wearable computers and augmented reality (pp. 429–446). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loomis, J. M., Marston, J. R., Golledge, R. G., & Klatzky, R. L. (2005). Personal guidance system for people with visual impairment: A comparison of spatial displays for route guidance. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 99(4), 219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marston, J. R., Loomis, J. M., Klatzky, R. L., Golledge, R. G., & Smith, E. L. (2006). Evaluation of spatial displays for navigation without sight. ACM Transactions on Applied Perception, 3(2), 110–124. doi:10.1145/1141897.1141900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miele, J. A. (2007). Automated creation and detailed annotation of audio/tactile maps using scalable vector graphics (SVG). Presented at the International Cartographic Conference, Moscow, Russia.

  • Miele, J. A. (2011). Tactile map automated production (TMAP): Using GIS data to automatically generate raised-line street maps. http://www.ski.org/Rehab/TMAP/.

  • Miele, J. A., & Gilden, D. B. (2004). Tactile map automated production (TMAP): Using GIS data to generate Braile maps. In Proceedings of the CSUN International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities. Presented at the International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities, Los Angeles, CA.

  • Miele, J. A., & Marston, J. R. (2005). Tactile map automated production (TMAP): Project update and research summary. In Proceedings of the CSUN 20th Annual International Conference. Presented at the International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities, Los Angeles, CA.

  • Nuernberger, A. (2008). Presenting accessibility to mobility-impaired travelers (UCTC Dissertation). Santa Barbara, CA: University of California Transportation Center.

  • Paez, F. I. (2014). Recruitment, training, and social dynamics in geo-crowdsourcing for accessibility (Master of Science). Fairfax, VA: George Mason University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pease, P. A. (2014). The influence of training on position and attribute accuracy in vgi (master of science). Fairfax, VA: George Mason University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, C. (2001). Tactile campus mapping: Evaluation designs and production technologies. In Proceedings, The 20th International Cartographic Conference (Vol. 5, pp. 2906–15). Presented at the International Cartographic Conference, ICC2001, Beijing, China.

  • Pinhel accessibility platform, accesible paths in pinhel. http://pinhel.proasolutions.pt/. Accessed Nov 21 2014.

  • Rice, M. T., Aburizaiza, A. O., Jacobson, R. D., Shore, B. M., & Paez, F. I. (2012a). Supporting accessibility for blind and vision-impaired people with a localized gazetteer and open source geotechnology. Transactions in GIS, 16(2), 177–190. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9671.2012.01318.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, M. T., Curtin, K. M., Paez, F. I., Seitz, C. R., & Qin, H. (2013a). Crowdsourcing to Support Navigation for the Disabled: A Report on the Motivations, Design, Creation and Assessment of a Testbed Environment for Accessibility (US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, US Army Topographic Engineering Center Technical Report, Data Level Enterprise Tools Workgroup No. BAA: #AA10-4733, Contract: # W9132 V-11-P-0011) (pp. 1–62). Fairfax, VA: George Mason University. Retrieved from http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA588474.

  • Rice, M. T., Hammill, W. C., Aburizaiza, A. O., Schwarz, S., & Jacobson, R. D. (2011). Integrating user-contributed geospatial data with assistive geotechnology using a localized Gazetteer. In A. Ruas (Ed.), Advances in Cartography and GIScience. Volume 1 (pp. 279–291). Berlin Heidelberg:Springer. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19143-5_16.

  • Rice, M. T., Jacobson, R. D., Caldwell, D. R., McDermott, S. D., Paez, F. I., Aburizaiza, A. O., et al. (2013b). Crowdsourcing techniques for augmenting traditional accessibility maps with transitory obstacle information. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 40(3), 210–219. doi:10.1080/15230406.2013.799737.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, M., Jacobson, R. D., Golledge, R. G., & Jones, D. (2005). Design considerations for haptic and auditory map interfaces. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 32(4), 381–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rice, M. T., Paez, F. I., Mulhollen, A. P., Shore, B. M., & Caldwell, D. R. (2012b). Crowdsourced geospatial data: A report on the emerging phenomena of crowdsourced and user-generated geospatial data (Annual No. AA10-4733). Fairfax, VA: George Mason University. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a576607.pdf.

  • Rice, M. T., Paez, F. I., Rice, R. M., Ong, E. W., Qin, H., Seitz, C. R., Fayne, J. V., Curtin, K. M., Fuhrmann, S., Pfoser, D., Medina, R. M. (2014). Quality Assessment and Accessibility Applications of Crowdsourced Geospatial Data: A report on the development and extension of the George Mason University (GMU) Geocrowdsourcing Testbed, pp. 1-91. BAA: #AA10-4733, Contract: # W9132 V-11-P-0011, “Assessing the Value of Neo-Geographic Information”. September 2014. http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a615952.pdf.

  • Ruitton-Allinieu, A.M. (2011). Crowdsourcing of Geoinformation: Data quality and possible applications (Master of Science). Aalto University. Espoo, Finland. http://maa.aalto.fi/fi/geoinformatiikan_tutkimusryhma-gma/geoinformatiikka_ja_kartografia/2011_ruitton-allinieu_a.pdf.

  • Sui, D., Elwood, S., & Goodchild, M. F. (Eds.). (2013). Crowdsourcing geographic knowledge volunteered geographic information (VGI) in theory and practice. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tatham, A. F. (1991). The design of tactile maps: Theoretical and practical considerations. In Mapping the Nations: Proceedings, 15th Conference and 9th General Assembly of the International Cartographic Association (Vol. 1, pp. 157–166). Presented at the International Cartographic Conference, ICC 1991, Bournemouth, UK.

  • Veregin, H. (1999). Data quality parameters. Geographical Information Systems, 1, 177–189.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M. A., Hurst, A., Kane, S. K., (2013) “Pray before you step out”: Describing personal and situational blind navigation behaviors In Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (pp. 1–8). Bellevue, Washington:ACM.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, under BAA #AA10-4733 Contract #W9132V-11-P-0011. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    Han Qin, Rebecca M. Rice, Sven Fuhrmann, Matthew T. Rice, Kevin M. Curtin & Eric Ong

Authors
  1. Han Qin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rebecca M. Rice
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sven Fuhrmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Matthew T. Rice
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kevin M. Curtin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Eric Ong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Han Qin.

Ethics declarations

Compliance with Ethics Requirements

Han Qin, Rebecca M. Rice, Sven Fuhrmann, Matthew T. Rice, Kevin M. Curtin and Eric Ong declare that they have no conflicts of interest. Matthew T. Rice has received research grants from United States Army Corps of Engineers. This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Qin, H., Rice, R.M., Fuhrmann, S. et al. Geocrowdsourcing and accessibility for dynamic environments. GeoJournal 81, 699–716 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-015-9659-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-015-9659-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation