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Volunteered Geographic Information, the Exaflood, and the Growing Digital Divide

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Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge

Abstract

The phenomenon of volunteered geographic information is part of a profound transformation on how geographic data, information, and knowledge are produced and circulated. This chapter begins by situating this transition within the broader context of an “exaflood” of digital data growth. It considers the implications of VGI and the exaflood for further time-space compression and new forms and degrees of digital inequality. We then give a synoptic overview of the content of this edited collection and its three-part structure: VGI, public participation, and citizen science; geographic knowledge production and place inference; and emerging applications and new challenges. We conclude this chapter by discussing the renewed importance of geography and the role of crowdsourcing for geographic knowledge production.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    1 http://www.ncgia.ucsb.edu/projects/vgi (accessed February 16, 2012).

  2. 2.

    2 http://mapcontext.com/autocarto/web/AutoCarto2008.html (accessed February 16, 2012).

  3. 3.

    3 http://cegis.usgs.gov/vgi (accessed February 16, 2012).

  4. 4.

    4 http://www.ornl.gov/sci/gist/workshops/agenda.shtml (accessed February 16, 2012).

  5. 5.

    5 http://vgi.spatial.ucsb.edu (accessed February 16, 2012).

  6. 6.

    6 We are aware of the inconsistencies in the estimated volume of data available so far, but we found remarkable similarities in the magnitude and range of digital data volumes. In the chapter, we relied on data primarily from EMC2: http://www.emc.com/leadership/programs/digital-universe.htm (accessed February 16, 2012).

  7. 7.

    7 http://www.physorg.com/news/2011–11-degrees.html (accessed February 16, 2012).

  8. 8.

    8 http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats2.htm (accessed February 16, 2012).

  9. 9.

    9 http://givewell.org/international/technical/additional/Standard-of-Living (accessed February 16, 2012).

  10. 10.

    10 http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/india/100507/mobile-phones-toilets-sanitation-health (accessed February 16, 2012).

  11. 11.

    11 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/opinion/empowering-citizen-cartographers.html?_r=2 (accessed February 16, 2012).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Daniel Sui

  2. Department of Geography, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

    Michael Goodchild

  3. Department of Geography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Sarah Elwood

Authors
  1. Daniel Sui
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  2. Michael Goodchild
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  3. Sarah Elwood
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Sui .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Geography, Ohio State University, N. Oval Mall 154, Columbus, 43210, Ohio, USA

    Daniel Sui

  2. Dept. Geography, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195-3550, Washington, USA

    Sarah Elwood

  3. College of Letters & Science, Dept. Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, Ellison Hall, Santa Barbara, 93106-4060, California, USA

    Michael Goodchild

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Sui, D., Goodchild, M., Elwood, S. (2013). Volunteered Geographic Information, the Exaflood, and the Growing Digital Divide. In: Sui, D., Elwood, S., Goodchild, M. (eds) Crowdsourcing Geographic Knowledge. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4587-2_1

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