NeoGeography and the nature of geographic expertise

Michael Goodchild

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

224 Scopus citations

Abstract

NeoGeography has been defined as a blurring of the distinctions between producer, communicator and consumer of geographic information. The relationship between professional and amateur varies across disciplines. The subject matter of geography is familiar to everyone, and the acquisition and compilation of geographic data have become vastly easier as technology has advanced. The authority of traditional mapping agencies can be attributed to their specifications, production mechanisms and programs for quality control. Very different mechanisms work to ensure the quality of data volunteered by amateurs. Academic geographers are concerned with the extraction of knowledge from geographic data using a combination of analytic tools and accumulated theory. The definition of NeoGeography implies a misunderstanding of this role of the professional, but English lacks a basis for a better term.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)82-96
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Location Based Services
Volume3
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Crowdsourcing
  • Mapping
  • NeoGeography
  • Spatial data infrastructure

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Signal Processing
  • Computer Networks and Communications
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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