While scientists across the world recognise the reality of climate change and its’ potential impacts on humanity, there’s still plenty of debate overwhat to do about it.

The government has set clear targets in relation to reducing the UK’scarbon emissions through the Climate Change Act, the Renewables Obligation, and the Energy Bill now in parliament. There are many linked challenges: economic reform; technical innovation; information dissemination, and (arguably a critical factor) the need to mobilise citizens and organisations to act differently.

The rise in internet based mapping applications in what is known as the Geographic Web or GeoWeb provide a powerful tool with the potential to help address the latter two of these challenges. The GeoWeb, together with the powerful Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) opens up new possibilities for engaging with the public on a range of issues, from local environmental inequalities to community action to tackle climate change.

See full article in July/Aug edition of  GeoConnexion

Air pollution is one of the longstanding environmental issues that is important at global, regional and local level. It is equally something that concerns ordinary people, especially when they live in an area they consider to be polluted.

Improvements to the UK’s air quality has been identified as a priority by the Coalition government, perceivably influenced by the EU air quality directives and the threat of potential fines that will be imposed for any lack of compliance.

Monitoring air quality at the micro-scale of streets and neighbourhoods is something most local authorities lack resources to implement comprehensively. But with increasing concerns over the health implications of poor air quality, potential impacts on the natural environment, and costs associated with breaches to the EU guidelines, it’s an issue that cannot be ignored.

Mapping for Change is keen to support communities interested in monitoring and mapping local air quality in their area (click for more info). We have compiled a range of simple methods that can help local groups to assess levels of nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particles. Monitoring can be carried out for anything from one week to four weeks, depending on which pollutants are being monitored.  We can provide the resources and the guidance needed. We will undertake the analyses, map the results and send these back to each respective community involved. Similar monitoring has already been undertaken in the Pepys Estate, Deptford. This has since led to two new monitoring sites being installed by the local council in a bid to obtain a clearer picture of localised air quality.  Air quality data specific to a community can be used in a variety of ways, from supported requests for improvement to public transport to informing planning application concerns.

Our work in this field will be further developed in the coming months through the EveryAware project, a new EU funded activity intending to integrate environmental monitoring, awareness enhancement and behaviour change by creating a new technological platform combining sensing technologies, networking applications and data-processing tools.

For now, we are starting with basic technology! If you would like to learn more or are keen to start a monitoring project in your community then email us at: info@mappingforchange.org.uk.

Mapping for Change facilitated the Justice in the Green event last Saturday at the Homerton Library.

Members of the community surrounding Hackney Marshes, local project partners and organisations interested in how changes in Hackney are affecting the use of the Marshes and surrounding green spaces  participated in the activities.

Video testimonies developed as part of the action research project conducted by students from the Development Planning Unit, UCL were on display throughout the day. These can be viewed on the Justice in the Green Community Map. The videos capture the diverse activities taking place on the Marshes and highlight concerns over the local authority’s development plans, which some feel are disruptive to existing activities.

Young and older generations engaged in participatory mapping activities to share their views on what the Marshes mean to them, how they use and would like to use the Marshes, in addition to their views on the Olympic Legacy.

Concerns with regard to the future of the Marshes were shared, as was the need to engage the younger generation with the resources on their doorstep. Ideas to encourage the appropriation of the Marshes ranged from holding an annual ‘Marsh Festival’ to getting local schools to utilise the Marsh as a playground and classroom.

One of  the participants said that “we need to bring local people to the Marshes to show them what a wonderful amenity they have - some people just don’t realise.” Another local resident said  “there is no one-place to find out what’s going on. Local groups share information within their group but it really is a case of what you hear on the grapevine.”

Mapping for Change  and UCL’s Development Planning Unit hope further collaborations will continue take place and that the community will use the Justice in the Green Community Map to share information, promote local activities, enhance the ownership of green spaces, and engage in the decision making process.

Over the past 6 months, we have been working with researchers at UCL Development Planning Unit , extending our Hackney community map and adding functionality that allow it to host the outputs of participatory video. The work was carried out with the local community and shows different aspects of the use of Hackney marshes and the area around it. On Saturday, 12th March, we are having an event and exhibition at the Homerton Library. During the event, we will show the participatory video and promote the Justice on the Green website, which will include the map that we have created.

The invitation to the event is here.

Mapping for Change Director and co-founder, Muki Haklay, presented at the Susbstance co-op conference, ‘A New Ball Game’ on Friday, 4th March. He gave a practical workshop, focusing on ‘Using Geographical Information to improve service delivery and analyse impact.’ The workshop covered the basic principles of geographical and spatial analysis of data. During the workshop, Muki showed how the availability of Ordnance Survey data and low cost Geographical Information System (GIS) software allow the analysis of information that is already available to improve the service delivery or impact of different activities. In addition, it covered a variety of mapping techniques used by Mapping for Change and UCL in a range of projects, including participatory mapping used to develop a communal action plan.

The conference presentation will be available on its website.

The UK Climate Action Map, a new interactive resource, is now on-line and under development. We have set this up for the Communities and Climate Action Alliance and it is being taken forward with the Low Carbon Communities Network. The map is at www.communitymaps.org.uk/ukclimateaction

In 2009/10 we worked with the Green Alliance, funded by the Gulbenkian Foundation, to map local activity on climate change in two areas of the UK - rural north Dorset and inner-city Newcastle upon Tyne.  These are on our Maps site. This work was done in partnership with local networks and focused on voluntary and community activity, but as the maps develop public and private sector activities have been added. The two maps share some common layers (such as local energy projects) while extra layers were added during the workshop processes.

The UK Climate Action Map was developed as part of the resources to support the Communities and Climate Conference. It has drawn on data for climate maps in Dorset, Newcastle and London, as well as those who attended the conference. Since then it has been further promoted and about 4 new projects a week are adding themselves (each entry is moderated by MfC before it appears on the map).

We are now starting to redevelop the map. Coming   months will see increased functionality (this would include the ability to lay other data (e.g. ONS information) over the map, and this week the ability to embed videos is being built in.   If you’d like to be involved in this project or know more please do get in touch.

We would like to thank all who attended our launch last week. There was a stimulating exchange of views, which opened the door to new opportunities for Mapping for Change.

While we would like to say to those who didn’t attend, “you missed a treat!” we have however uploaded some of the presentations, which are available using the links below:

A decade of participatory mapping – the road to Mapping for Change

Noise mapping helps citizens take action

Mapping the future?

Alun Morgan from the Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development (RCE) said “what a great event the launch of Mapping for Change was last Thursday! I thoroughly enjoyed myself intellectually and socially! I hope there will be opportunities to collaborate in the future.”

“Putting ourselves on the map” a pilot project run in three Tower Hamlet schools was one of RCE’s first initiatives.

Our doors are now officially open and we would love to hear from you if you have any suggestions, comments, ideas for new collaborations or even new contracts!

It is quite risqué launching a new enterprise during the tightest economic crunch in living memory, but the interest expressed over the last couple of years, the numbers that have turned out to the events that we’ve held, show that there’s a need for what we offer.

Our focus is on participation, engagement and empowerment - not on technology - but on people and communities. We are simply enabling you to see what’s there already, and how to use it; or, if it’s not there, to ask why not. What we are offering is a picture of what is, and encouraging you to ask the question:  what could be?

Mapping for Change Noise Maps are being used by the Royal Docks community to convey their concerns over noise levels generating from London City Airport to the GLA Environment Committee. The Greater London Authority’s environment committee has launched an inquiry into the environmental controls around the expansion of London City Airport, which could see flights increase from 91,000 to 120,000 annually. On Friday, the Committee made a site visit to the airport and local area, and also gave members of the local community an opportunity to express their concerns. Fight the Flights, a local campaign group, have launched a High Court challenge against the council’s expansion decision.

Over the past few weeks, Fight the Flights has borrowed noise meters from MfC and carried out a community noise survey in three of the boroughs surrounding London City Airport. Luckily, the noise survey includes the time during the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland and therefore a period of no flights above the London skies, which is a rarity. We will show the maps with the outcomes of this analysis soon.

Click here to see a recent article in the London Evening Standard

View our short video on the 2008 noise mapping project