Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Spatial citizenship

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Spatial citizenship describes the ability of individuals and groups to interact and participate in societal spatial decision making through the reflexive production and use of geo-media (geographic media such as maps, virtual globes, GIS, and the Geoweb). Spatial citizens are lay users who are able to use geo-media to question existing perspectives on action in space (e.g. social rules, spatial planning) and to produce, communicate, and negotiate alternative spatial visions.

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Spatial citizenship is an educational approach at the intersection of citizenship education and geography education. Its main theoretical reference points are emancipatory forms of citizenship and the "reflexive appropriation of space".

Spatial citizenship in the geoinformation society

Geographic media (geo-media) are especially important for attaching meaning to places as they clearly connect location, information and visualization. In addition to this, geo-media represents mainly single meanings out of the many that are possible. Nowadays, geo-media have become more and more present in everyday life due to mobile computing in combination with Geoweb applications. For instance, maps on smart phones guide people in their everyday actions, but at the same time limit their opportunities for action by limiting the variety of potential meanings.

Scholars of spatial citizenship understand geo-media as instruments of reflection and communication.

  • Reflection on geo-media means reflecting on the limitations of previously given meanings by using theories of critical cartography to ask which aspects of potential relevance for a certain spatial problem or decision making are included and excluded in the given meanings. At the same time, self-reflection requires being aware of one's own, subjective hypothesis construction while using geo-media. Both aspects allow for a more mature appropriation of space with geo-media, while being aware of and gaining insight into the construction process of meanings attached to space.
  • Communication with geo-media means communicating using spatial representations. Thanks to user-friendly web mapping tools within the Geoweb, users (prosumers) can easily produce their own geo-media and share it web-wide. Collaboration features allow for the negotiation of constructions of space with other users, for example through volunteered geographic information (VGI). The study of spatial citizenship examines subjectivity, impact on everyday action, social power relations, competition, and negotiation in VGI. Spatial citizenship also aims at increasing awareness of geographic information produced involuntarily by users through automatic data collection that many Geoweb platforms (especially mobile phones) include to support the interests of service providers (see location-based services).

    • Education

    The goal of education for spatial citizenship is to enable learners to achieve a reflexive appropriation of space as the basis for mature action in space by reflective geo-media use and active, reflective geo-media production. Using a broad variety of learning environments orientated toward the learners' needs, the educational approach of spatial citizenship is applicable at different levels from primary to tertiary education. Apart from technological proficiency, spatial citizenship education aims at two additional main competences:

  • Being able to achieve a reflective use of geo-media, while understanding the process of the social construction of spaces, with the result of either consciously accepting given meanings or producing alternative meanings.
  • Being able to communicate alternative meanings effectively with geo-media and using geo-media as instruments to support argumentation in negotiation processes on contradictory meanings.

    • Scientific response

    The European Commission-funded project SPACIT furthers education for spatial citizenship by developing teacher training standards, curricula, and learning modules for teacher education. Another EU-funded project, digital-earth.eu, linked with the SPACIT project by connecting stakeholders using or interested in using geo-media in education. It supported spatial citizenship through the creation of educational standards, the collection of best-practice examples, and the provision of learning environments applicable to teachers in everyday classroom situations. Digital-earth.eu also promoted these concepts related to spatial citizenship in political circles concerned with the development of the Europe2020 goals.

    References

    Spatial citizenship Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA