Grassroots Mapping is a series of participatory mapping projects involving communities in cartographic dispute. Seeking to invert the traditional power structure of cartography, the grassroots mappers used helium balloons and kites to loft their own “community satellites” made with inexpensive digital cameras.

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At Public Lab, we've grown the Grassroots Mapping community into a broader effort to enable communities to understand and respond to environmental threats with DIY techniques.

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Picavet PET rig

February 5th, 2012 by mathew

A Picavet rig is a very common type of KAP/BAP rig, I've added it to the juice bottle in a fairly simple way, using 1/2" key rings.

Picavet Juice bottle

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Aurora Tang’s Balloon Closing Method

February 5th, 2012 by mathew

This is Aurora Tang's method of sealing up her balloons. I think its the best I've seen. It was developed during a project to document Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty with the Getty Institute. She has used it extensively for landscape photography.

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Lima, Peru: Kite Making/Ballon Mapping Workshop, U. of San Marcos

February 2nd, 2012 by anita

We held a Ballon Mapping and Kite Making Workshop on the Campus of San Marcos on Jan. 28, 2012 with a group of about 10 people from: Open Street Map Peru, Saberes Nomadas, and San Marcos Univ. (physics, geography, sociology, and geographic engineering depts.)

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Efficient Image Sorting with Finder & Preview (Mac)

January 30th, 2012 by mathew

I've made an instructional video on efficient image sorting with Preview and Finder, for quickly winnowing down big groups of images to small sets, ready for MapKnitter:

using a knot to trigger cameras

January 29th, 2012 by mathew

This is for use with the PET Bottle Rig

Instead of using a balled up piece of tape, a pebble, or some other thing to hold down my camera's shutter, I've gone to using a knot. This makes it easy to hold in place, and makes setting it easier. I prefer a rubber band, but tape also holds it down. tape may be more useful for bulging, non rectangular cameras.

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Helium high: balloon mapping in the Philippines

January 25th, 2012 by maning

This post has been syndicated from EPSG4253.wordpress.com

Today, we had a balloon mapping experiment. For a very brief airtime, we got some really impressive images.

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Georectifying in the Wetlands

January 4th, 2012 by Stewart Long

cross-posted from PBS's IdeaLab. Making maps from balloon and kite flights in the dynamic coastal wetlands areas.

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Georectifying in the Wetlands

January 4th, 2012 by Stewart Long

cross-posted from PBS's IdeaLab. Making maps from balloon and kite flights in the dynamic coastal wetlands areas.

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Multispectral work at Sunol Ag Park

December 8th, 2011 by Stewart Long

This is a snapshot of some multispectral imaging that I have been working on with Pat Coyle at the organic agriculture park in Sunol, California. http://www.sagecenter.org/sunol-agpark/

near infrared tool:
http://publiclaboratory.org/tool/near-infrared-camera

Jeff Warren's NRG tutorial: http://youtu.be/Sfic43qRHqk
Warren on NDVI: http://youtu.be/-nNnWEHNO_w

Multispectral work at Sunol Ag Park

December 8th, 2011 by Stewart Long

This is a snapshot of some multispectral imaging that I have been working on with Pat Coyle at the organic agriculture park in Sunol, California. http://www.sagecenter.org/sunol-agpark/

near infrared tool:
http://publiclaboratory.org/tool/near-infrared-camera

Jeff Warren's NRG tutorial: http://youtu.be/Sfic43qRHqk
Warren on NDVI: http://youtu.be/-nNnWEHNO_w