Volunteered Geographic Information and Crowdsourcing Disaster Relief: A Case Study of the Haitian Earthquake

27 Pages Posted: 14 Feb 2013

See all articles by Matthew Zook

Matthew Zook

University of Kentucky

Mark Graham

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

Taylor Shelton

University of Kentucky

Sean Gorman

FortiusOne

Date Written: 2010

Abstract

This paper outlines the ways in which information technologies (ITs) were used in the Haiti relief effort, especially with respect to web-based mapping services. Although there were numerous ways in which this took place, this paper focuses on four in particular: CrisisCamp Haiti, OpenStreetMap, Ushahidi, and GeoCommons. This analysis demonstrates that ITs were a key means through which individuals could make a tangible difference in the work of relief and aid agencies without actually being physically present in Haiti. While not without problems, this effort nevertheless represents a remarkable example of the power and crowdsourced online mapping and the potential for new avenues of interaction between physically distant places that vary tremendously.

Keywords: Haiti, OpenStreetMap, Ushahidi, GeoCommons, volunteered geographic information, crowdsourcing

Suggested Citation

Zook, Matthew and Graham, Mark and Shelton, Taylor and Gorman, Sean, Volunteered Geographic Information and Crowdsourcing Disaster Relief: A Case Study of the Haitian Earthquake (2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2216649 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2216649

Matthew Zook

University of Kentucky ( email )

Lexington, KY 40506
United States

Mark Graham (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

1 St. Giles
University of Oxford
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3JS
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.geospace.co.uk

Taylor Shelton

University of Kentucky

Lexington, KY 40506
United States

Sean Gorman

FortiusOne

2200 Wilson Blvd.
Suite 307
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

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