Author(s): Drate, Pamella
Date: 2013
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/9206
Origin: Repositório Institucional da UNL
Subject(s): Boundary; Community; Empowerment; Geographic Information systems; Land uses; Public Participation Geographic Information Systems; Public Participation; Stakeholder; Spatial; Technology; Urban Planning; Web 2.0
Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.
Town planning is highly a community initiative, if community efforts are sought-after in the most convenient approach, sustainable plans are produced. In this study, an interactive screen, pen and web 2.0 are used in an urban planning exercise to enhance public participation in Uganda. PPGIS applications are increasingly used in disciplines related to Geographic Information science in most parts of the world. However, developing countries with low technological advancements, experience only a glimpse of the GIS benefits. The study is based on a combination of traditional methods and a web 2.0, this is inspired by studies done by Al-kodmany 2001. The web application is developed from open source software, firstly because the software is readily availability, secondly to create a simple interface that is more user friendly and meets the aim of improving participation levels. The method follows a traditional community meeting, where participants gather to make comments about a neighbourhood plan produced by Bugembe Town council. The plan from the web application, is projected on to a wall which is made sensitive to an interactive pen. The community maps their comments directly on the projection using the interactive pen. The comments are stored in a GIS database for the planner to retrieve and incorporate in the final plan. The usability assessments are done using questionnaires, recordings and physical checks. This is followed by engaging the communities in mapping landmarks in their areas, purposely, to understand their perceptions of space and representation of spatial features. The results are overwhelming as the communities easily map their boundaries on the web application using the interactive screen; the application was tested by people from all walks of life. 74 percent of the participants appreciated the application and found it easy to use. With the recommendations and wealth of information provided by the communities, the application will fetch enormous results in the field of public participation in Uganda, at the same time making the town planners work easier, improving accuracy levels of data capture and ease in data sharing.
