Thinking Beyond the Map

Room: Talks I

Friday, 11:30
Duration: 20 minutes (plus Q&A)

This event will not be recorded.

• Ivan Harris Tanyag

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.