Crisis Mapping as an example of "Pattern Mapping"?

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Permalink Reply by Patrick Meier on October 22, 2009 at 11:18pm

Thanks Jerri!

For me personally, crisis mapping extends well beyond pattern mapping, hence the taxonomy used to inform the agenda of ICCM 2009:

Crisis Map Sourcing
Crisis Map Visualization
Crisis Map Analysis
Crisis Map Operations

More here on the taxonomy: Proposing the Field of Crisis Mapping

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Permalink Reply by Jerri Husch on October 23, 2009 at 12:18am

Hi Patrick,

Interesting. Could there be Pattern Mapping (a noun) writ large and then under that Crisis Mapping (and other specific content areas that can be mapped) and then the taxonomy you outlined? In this configuration "pattern mapping" would then become a verb......ie. "pattern mapping as a tool for Pattern Mapping".

Thus the hierarchy would look like this:

A. Pattern Mapping (Discipline)

1. Crisis Mapping (Field of Study)
a. Crisis Map Methods
i. Sourcing
ii. Visualization
iii. Analysis
a. pattern analysis (using mapping and other visual tool and techniques)
b. categorization
c. comparison
d. evaluation
c. synthesis
iv. Operations


Or maybe instead of Pattern Mapping, what about "Thematic Mapping" and then Crisis Mapping would be a specific theme that can then have "pattern mapping" be part of the activities?

I say this as the methods currently under discussion for "Crisis Mapping" seem to cut across any number of other "social actions/processes", ie. long term humanitarian assistance, development etc.

best, Jer

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Permalink Reply by Nigel Snoad on October 23, 2009 at 12:32pm

I agree with Patrick on this one - despite the "mapping" in the title, I think we are also critically concerned with data collection strategies and the decision support for operations (which is often quite different from analysis and early warning). That said I do think the concept is very useful, especially given the body of work and literature on pattern mapping and information mapping in general.

I also like the concept of links to "humanitarian" and "development" mapping, recognizing that by defining a "crisis" very broadly we've explicitly allowed ourselves to stretch to both (or is that more a deliberate failure of definition :-)

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Permalink Reply by Jerri Husch on October 23, 2009 at 10:38pm

Hi Nigel,

Ok, I know I am stirring the pot by having this conversations with "deep" crisis mappers, but I think we are on to something as we share our various perspectives.....and this is the fun part of being part of a new field.....

I find your comments and qualifyers very interesting. I am intrigued by your use of "despite the mapping in the title we are also critically concerned with data collection strategies, and decision support for operations"... This is in fact, exactly why I raise the issue---and the "despite" is an important modifyer. Does "despite" mean you recognize that that term may have people simply focus on the "mapping" part and are not be aware of the other important data related techniques that accompany the "mapping"? If so, that is precisely why I think we need a term that is more concise and that will allow people to see that "crisis mapping' uses a broad set of methods (primarily visual tools) that allow more profound insights into crises than before. In addition, I think we need an "umbrella term" that allows people to quickly understand all of the methods and then use them on the specific case of "crises".

From conversations I have been having with colleagues, "crisis mapping" they seem to say, describes simply the "mapping part" of crisis related knowledge gathering and action supporting activities. What they say is that they are interested in the fact that data related to a specific form of "patterned action" (crises) are being collected, categorized, compared analyzed by using visual tools. They also say that this is a welcome addition and can be integrated into other same methodological concerns with data collection and decision support to operations with respect to ANY analysis of social data (ie. humanitarian actions or development actions). The issue is not with the "mapping" part of the "Crisis Mapping" the issue is that the "mapping" part, can be attached to any study of human activities. That is the new and cool part----

This is why I am trying to figure out a more "comprehensive term" under which "crisis mapping" (as a type of "pattern mapping") could fall. (information mapping is a bit too narrow for my liking right now).

What about "thematic mapping" as a useful label for the entire "integrated process" of what we seem to be talking about (collection, categorization, mapping, analysis, synthesis, and decision support), Then the more specific "crisis mapping" can be a subset of the larger "thematic mapping" enterprise.

Again, I raise this as a way of moving towards a set of terms that will allow what we are "doing' to be understood as both a way to investigate a social phenomena with discreet boundaries (crises), and as a new method that uses a general set of geo-spatial, temporal and visual techniques and tools......

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