Collaborative mapping of emerging cities in developing countries: the León Emergente project

Abstract

In the expanding constellation of collaborative map-making initiatives, a growing number of small local projects coexist along with more ambitious and global ones. In developing countries, their existence is not only compatible and complementary, but also necessary, since they meet different needs and pursue diverse and essential objectives, in addition to collecting and sharing geo-located data. In this context, this paper describes the León Emergente initiative, a collaborative living atlas for the city of León in Nicaragua. The results are presented through two main maps that illustrate, for the first time, the formal and informal economic activity of the city as well as the health facilities in relation to the distribution of population across the city. The paper also describes the Leon Emergente online platform and presents a number of online maps that not only represent, but also collect data on different urban aspects and dynamics.