COLLABORATIVE MAPPING STRATEGY IN SUPPORT OF SLUM UPGRADING: THE CASE OF BOGOTÁ

Abstract. The article presents the development of a methodology for collaborating data gathering carried out remotely in a South American informal settlement for the purpose of a slum upgrading project. It was built in progress considering issues, limitations, and opportunities that arose during data collection. This text describes the creation process of the methodology as well as considerations and advice in retrospect, for those who may be interested in replicating or adapting it to similar contexts and needs.

The methodology consists of the collaboration of various subjects, on the field and remotely to facilitate, speed up and expand the mapping possibilities of informal and/or hardly accessible context, taking into account that it has been applied in a period of severe limitations due to the pandemic. The entire workflow was developed having in mind a collaborative and open framework, involving communities at different scales and adopting Free and Open Source Softwares.

In the study case, 702 Points of interest in a Bogota’s slum were mapped thanks to one field survey, carried out by a local NGO using Mapillary for street-level images collection, and a collaborative mapping that involved volunteers from various nations in the OpenStreetMap environment.

It proved to have a further result in the widening of the knowledge of the involved participants and the creation of networks that could lead to new collaborations or facilitate future projects.