GeoWeb 2.0 applications could support the Geodesign process

Abstract

The emergence of Web 2.0 is materialized by new technologies (APIs, Ajax, etc.), by new practices (mashup, geotagging, etc.) an, by new tools (wiki, blog, etc.). It is primarily based on the principle of participation and collaboration. In this dynamic, the web mapping with spatial character or simply called Geospatial Web (or Geoweb) evolves by strong technological and social changes. Participatory GeoWeb 2.0 is materialized in particular by mashups among wikis and géobrowsers (ArgooMap, Geowiki, WikiMapia, etc.). The new applications resulting from these mashups are moving towards more interactive forms of collective intelligence. The Geodesign is a new area, which is the coupling between GIS and design, allowing a multidisciplinary team to work together. As it is an emergent term, the Geodesign has not be well defined and it requires innovative theoretical basis, new tools, media, technologies and practices to fit its complex requirements. In this document, we propose some GeoWeb 2.0 tools and technologies that could support the Geodesign process. The main contributions of the present research are firstly identifying the needs, requirements and constraints of Geodesign process as an emergent fuzzy field, and secondly offering new supports that are best meeting to the collaborative dimension of this process.