GIS and Remote Sensing

16. Volunteered geographic information (VGI)

VGI is the harnessing of tools to create, assemble, and disseminate geographic data provided voluntarily by individuals. VGI is a special case of the larger Web phenomenon known as user-generated content. VGI can also be seen as an extension of critical and participatory approaches to geographic information systems. VGI attracted concerns about data quality, and specifically about its credibility and the possibility of vandalism. These sites provide general base map information and allow users to create their own content by marking locations where various events occurred or certain features exist, but aren’t already shown on the base map.