2025-10-03 –, Talks I
This talk explores how OpenStreetMap (OSM) and remote sensing data can be integrated to uncover spatial inequalities, as well as to inform disaster risk planning and amplify community perspectives that are often left off on traditional maps. Drawing from youth-led mapping and satellite-based analyses in the Philippines, we compare the strengths and limitations of OSM’s ground-level local knowledge with remote sensing's broad, synoptic imagery. The talk reflects on what it means to “think beyond the map;" that is, to map not only roads and buildings, but also the vulnerability, memory, and absence of communities whose lived realities defy conventional spatial representation. We share practical examples from open-source workflows (e.g., Sentinel-2, Landsat 8, Google Earth Engine, QGIS, JOSM) and field research in flood-prone and marginalized areas. The session provides a critical lens on positionality, data authorship, and the ethical intersections of civic mapping and earth observation. This is both a technical and reflective session for mappers, educators, and advocates interested in merging both remote and local spatial narratives.
Integrating Remote Sensing and OpenStreetMap for Spatial Justice
Talk keywords:OpenStreetMap, RemoteSensing, Participation, Justice, Mapping
Affiliation:Beyond the Map Policy Studio
Mr. Ivan Harris Tanyag is the Founder of Beyond the Map Policy Studio, a youth-led initiative in the Philippines focused on participatory mapping, spatial justice, and public policy. He serves as a Technical Specialist at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), conducting research under the Teacher Development Subcommittee of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II). His work appears in Socioeconomic Impacts of High-Speed Rail Systems (Springer, 2025) and The Routledge Handbook of Anti-Corruption Research and Practice (Routledge, 2025).