ABSTRACT
The use of maps and geographical information to address community concerns is integrating different areas, including participatory mapping, participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) or Public Participation GIS (PPGIS), and the emerging area of citizen science. This chapter provides an overview of the way in which these areas contributed to local community environmental action with a particular focus on the role of participatory mapping and citizen science. The proliferation of accessible techniques for community-based environmental monitoring, combined with practices that emerged from the environmental justice movement, provides the basis for new applications of mapping and sensing that are now within reach of individuals and communities. The chapter provides a brief introduction to geographical and localized elements of environmental justice, PGIS and citizen science. The methodology is illustrated in a case study of community-led noise monitoring at the Pepys Estate in Deptford, London.
