| Over the past two decades public participation GIS (PPGIS) has emerged as an established field of research and practice. The emergence of PPGIS coincides with the growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web, and the evolution of Web 2.0 as a means for utilizing these technologies for participatory creation and sharing of knowledge and information. To date, PPGIS related research and practice that seeks to integrate GIS to facilitate interaction and communication between participants has tended to overlook spatial group dialogue as a vital element of group collaboration in favour of more structured decision making processes. Despite the underlying potential of Web 2.0, few examples exist that utilize it to facilitate group interaction and collaboration.;To address this, this thesis presents a framework for merging and studying collaborative GIS and PPGIS methods facilitated by Web 2.0 technology and methods. This is accomplished by adapting an existing framework for collaborative decision making to explicitly define spatial group dialogue as relevant component. Feedback linkages are identified within this model and between the implementation of PPGIS and related methods and Web-based technologies, and a practical model is outlined for implementing a Web 2.0 PPGIS in an iterative process.;A Web 2.0 PPGIS tool named MapChat is developed based on free and open source software (FOSS) components as a Web 2.0 PPGIS that reflects the proposed framework. A phased approach is developed within the framework, and the MapChat application is implemented in a case study established in the Upper Taieri River Catchment in Central Otago, New Zealand. The study seeks to facilitate spatial group dialogue between local farmers in this region, who are currently engaged in a collaborative effort to address local water resource management issues participated. Data collected during each phase of the case study are analyzed to characterize the local context, to assess their use of the MapChat tool for individual creation of spatial data and during group discussions, and to examine the impacts and outcomes of the case study for the participants.;Insights gained from the analysis of this study highlight the potential for use of Web 2.0 tools such as MapChat for facilitating collaborative creation of spatial data and group spatial dialogue. Challenges faced during the study suggest directions for ongoing research to improve and understand better the framework, methods and technology developed in this thesis. |
