Cartoforum – A Map-Based Discussion Forum with Applications in the Planning of Cycle Lanes, Community Food Gardens and Campus Sustainability

Map-based discussion forums can be used for crowdsourcing people’s ideas and opinions with respect to public planning processes. Their volunteered geographic information consists of text and other media that are linked to geographic features. Building on the concept of argumentation mapping, Cartoforum was developed using the Boundless geostack, an open-source geospatial software package. We present the software architecture and functionality along with three pilot studies covering cycle lane planning in Toronto, Canada; community garden site-selection in the Toronto region; and campus sustainability at the University of Kerala, India. Together, the pilot studies demonstrate the utility of argumentation mapping and illustrate the range of its potential applications in citizen participation.