Qualitative analysis of volunteered geographic information in a spatially enabled society project

Abstract

The increase of data sources on the Internet and Web 2.0 advances have contributed to significant changes in the way we produce spatial information. The citizen is using collaborative environments to produce their own data, whether in the area of public security, infrastructure or for simple fun. The voluntary contribution is essential to make a spatially enabled society and help in decision-making process at all levels of a society, whether governmental, private or by the citizen. Analyzing the information gain that is recorded in collaborative Web systems is essential to know what is not being recorded in official data sources. The aim of this study is to evaluate the information gain generated by the user on a project to transform a conventional computerized municipal management for a spatially enabled society. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.