Center for Metropolitan Studies launches Interactive Mapping Platform

Tool allows users to produce their own maps of urban space using textual data, photos and videos.

Agência FAPESP* – The Center for Metropolitan Studies (CEM) recently launched the Interactive Mapping Platform (MAPi), which allows the mapping of elements of urban space through textual data, photos and videos, as well as the visualization of spatial data on different topics through thematic maps.

The CEM is a FAPESP Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center (RIDC) based at the University of São Paulo (USP) and the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP).

MAPi is a free and open web platform that can be accessed directly through an Internet browser from the CEM website, without the need to register or install software.

“It can be used as a teaching tool by teachers and students to support territorial planning,” states Mariana Giannotti, coordinator of the Transfer and Dissemination team and CEM researcher.

The application was developed by researcher Kaue Oliveira Almeida, a member of CEM. “After a final testing phase, we’re opening up access to the app to the general public, but we know that improvements may be made based on user experience. That’s why we’re inviting teachers to test it in teaching activities,” he says.

Teachers who participate in the trial will have early access to the collaborative mapping area and periodic contact with the MAPi team to understand how to use the tools to support teaching activities in mapping and geospatial data analysis.

Interested parties can register using the online form or in the top right corner of the MAPi website under “Collaborative Mapping.” More information can be obtained by e-mailing [e-mail].

Possibilities

The tool is a type of cartography that allows users to change aspects of the map display and was developed to encourage users to produce their own maps. The MAPi app allows you to generate thematic maps, such as the choropleth, which represents statistical data of an area using different colors or shades, and to overlay layers, such as schools and transport, which could help in understanding access to education for those who depend on the public transport system.

The collaborative mapping features allow users to create mapping projects around their homes, schools and neighborhoods, for example. The state of road surfaces, street lighting, sidewalks, streams and rivers, public cleaning, and the quantification and location of public services such as schools, hospitals, health centers and police stations in the neighborhood are all elements of the urban space that can be added to maps by students according to the activities suggested by teachers.

This information is systematized and can be visualized and analyzed using the tool for collective reflection within the class or with other classes, and the visualization can be augmented with other data from official sources or from other classes to discuss its social implications.

* With information from the CEM.