From August 14 to 16, several DRRN members and partners participated in the inaugural workshop of the Participatory Mapping Working Group (PMWG) of the International Cartographic Association (ICA). Organized as a pre-conference workshop to the International Cartographic Conference being held in Vancouver, the event brought together a diverse group of scholars, practitioners, and students to explore the evolving role of participatory mapping in research, practice, and policy. Hosted by an interdisciplinary team from UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan, the three-day workshop combined collaborative discussions, hands-on agenda-setting sessions, and experiential learning.
Architect Louis Conway praised the workshop’s “holistic approach,” highlighting its ability to illuminate the “complex entanglements” of participatory mapping and its relevance to real-world challenges such as climate- and earthquake-resilient affordable housing. He pointed to the potential for co-creation research that incorporates communities directly into design and planning processes.
Charlotte Milne, a PhD student in UBC’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, shared her reflections on the workshop’s inclusive and critical discussions. “It was awesome to be in a room of participatory mappers from across the world,” she said, emphasizing the importance of “reciprocal community engagement” that transcends disciplinary boundaries.
Charlotte also highlighted key conversations around accessibility in mapping tools and the inclusion of disabled and digitally-excluded community members in participatory processes. A recurring theme was the difficulty of measuring long-term impacts: “Researchers may claim a mapping project will have clear benefits to a community, but how is this measured in the years following the work?” To address this gap, the PMWG is currently developing a new atlas that will document participatory mapping initiatives and their impacts over time.
Thank you to Theresa Dearden for extending an invite to DRRN members and to Louis Conway and Charlotte Milne for sharing their impressions of the workshop.