Constructing neighborhoods from the bottom up: the case for resident-generated GIS

As in other areas of planning practice, the use of GIS in neighborhood plan ning has assumed a technical: top-down approach. Given the fact that GIS ar e essentially about providing and analyzing spatial data, it is difficult t o envision how their use in local communities could be construed otherwise. In this paper I make a case for the need to channel intellectual energy,in to developing an approach and methodology for resident-generated GIS. Speci fically I argue-that there is:a need to exploit GIS in the investigation of residents' perceptions of local neighborhood environments. I explore this approach in five sections. First, I present a definition of resident-genera ted GIS and position it within the larger debate on public participation GI S. Second, I offer a review of the current use of GIS in local neighborhood communities. This consists of an empirical assessment of neighborhood GIS as well as a critique of community GIS from the perspective of scholars in planning and geography. Third, I review the theoretical background that is integral to-and must form the basis of-a resident-generated GIS. Three theo retical traditions are relevant: environmental perception; indigenous infor mation and its use in GIS; and neighborhood-level issues that could be enli ghtened through the use of GIS. Fourth, I propose a methodological framewor k for constructing and utilizing resident-generated GIS. Fifth, I discuss t he political implications of a resident-generated GIS.