Alvarez-Romero, Jorge, and Osbaldiston, Justin (2021) ValueMapper: an interactive web-based tool to map and visualise spatial data. James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.

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Abstract

ValueMapper is a flexible and easy-to-use web-based application for mapping, visualising, and storing spatial information. The tool was developed to support mapping areas of conservation, cultural or economic interest, a.k.a. place or landscape values, but can be used for other purposes. The tool allows mapping, modifying, describing, and saving polygons in ESRI Shapefile format, which can be visualised using the tool or further edited using GIS software. The web-based interface allows users to draw and save polygons with information about the features (areas) of interest. For example, documenting their name, category, description, accuracy, sensitivity, custodians, and other relevant characteristics of the mapped features of interest.

The software facilitates participatory mapping of landscape values to support environmental planning and management, including conservation and land/ water use planning initiatives. James Cook University developed the tool to support a project on multi-objective planning in northern Australia. The tool was developed and tested during a research project guiding participatory scenario planning to explore alternative development pathways for the Fitzroy River catchment of the Kimberley, Western Australia. Depending on the mapping and planning exercise's goals, context, and resources, more advanced and custom-made tools may be required. The software can be combined with other tools (e.g. interactive tabletop projectors, 3D models), facilitating knowledge sharing and co-production.

Research Statement

Research Background	James Cook University developed the tool to support a project on multi-objective planning in northern Australia. In particular, the tool was developed and tested during a research project guiding participatory scenario planning to explore alternative development pathways for the Fitzroy River catchment of the Kimberley, Western Australia (Álvarez-Romero et al. 2021; Kiatkoski Kim et al. 2021).
Research Contribution	The software facilitates participatory mapping of landscape values to support environmental planning and management, including conservation and land/ water use planning initiatives. Depending on the mapping and planning exercise's goals, context, and resources, more advanced and custom-made tools may be required. The software can be used with other tools (e.g., interactive tabletop projectors, 3D models), facilitating knowledge sharing and co-production.
Research Significance	ValueMapper is a flexible and easy-to-use web-based application for mapping, visualising, and storing spatial information. The tool was developed to support mapping areas of conservation, cultural or economic interest, a.k.a. place or landscape values, but can be used for other purposes. One of the tool's key features is its flexibility to add information about the mapped features in the most appropriate and valuable ways for users. Given that there are no pre-set categories, users can map different types of features, and only document attributes that are meaningful and fit for purpose. Users can add as many attributes as needed and give attributes meaningful and context-specific names.
Item ID:	70874
Item Type:	Other
Media of Output:	Web-based application
Keywords:	NESP; Spatial value mapping; Participatory mapping; Participatory GIS; PGIS; Public Participation Geographic Information System; PPGIS; multi-objective planning; land-use planning; water planning; participatory scenario planning; conservation planning; stakeholder engagement; Traditional Owners; Indigenous Australians; Fitzroy River catchment; Kimberley Region; Western Australia; Northern Australia
Related URLs:	https://doi.org/10.25903/p324-m141 https://www.nespnorthern.edu.au/projects...
Copyright Information:	© the Authors and James Cook University. This software is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) licence, save for content supplied by third parties (e.g. example datasets included with this software, which should be acknowledged as appropriate). The CC BY-NC 4.0 licence is a standard form licence agreement that allows you to share (copy and redistribute) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon) this software, provided you give appropriate credit (see citation), provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may not use the software for commercial purposes. See more details in the accompanying PDF license file.
Additional Information:	We used web development languages, HTML and CSS for the physical creation of the webpage and JavaScript for all processing and functionality. This version has comments on the code to explain how it was built, commenting out the functions that were removed. The recommended browsers to use are Chrome or Firefox. Due to regular Google maps JavaScript API updates, users may encounter problems when running the tool. If that is the case, experienced users can update the required libraries or get in touch with the authors. Disclaimer: The authors do not warrant that the operation of this software is free from errors or omissions. The authors do not accept any form of liability, be it contractual, tortious, or otherwise, for the contents of this software or for any consequences arising from its use or any reliance placed upon it. The uses of this software may not relate, or be relevant, to a user's particular circumstances. The software is provided as-is for free use, modification and distribution, but does not reflect the scope or content of any other works developed by James Cook University.
Funders:	National Environmental Science Program (NESP), James Cook University (JCU), ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Projects and Grants:	NESP Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub
Date Deposited:	21 Dec 2021 21:10
FoR Codes:	41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410401 Conservation and biodiversity @ 20% 46 INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES > 4601 Applied computing > 460106 Spatial data and applications @ 50% 46 INFORMATION AND COMPUTING SCIENCES > 4609 Information systems > 460902 Decision support and group support systems @ 30%
SEO Codes:	22 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES > 2204 Information systems, technologies and services > 220401 Application software packages @ 60% 28 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 2801 Expanding knowledge > 280111 Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences @ 20% 22 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION SERVICES > 2204 Information systems, technologies and services > 220402 Applied computing @ 20%
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