The Sketch Map Tool is an easy-to-use tool for participatory mapping through offline collection, digitization, and georeferencing of local data. The low-tech solution simplifies the gathering and analysis of spatial knowledge and perceptions using pens and paper maps, the so-called Sketch Maps. As an open-source web application, the tool supports the creation, use, and subsequent digitization and analysis of paper-based maps, integrating OpenStreetMap and satellite data (ESRI world imagery).
Define your area of interest and your base map, look at the OSM Map Quality check and export the map as PDF.
Data collection with local communities in- and outdoor with pens on paper Sketch Maps.
Scan or photograph your marked Sketch Maps, upload the images to Sketch Map Tool and download collected markings as geodata. You will need a GIS to open it, we recommend QGIS or umap.
Participatory Mapping: Facilitates community involvement with a focus on marginalized groups by providing a mapping option with basic tools like paper and pens.
Customized maps: Supports various paper sizes and offers two base map options—OpenStreetMap and satellite imagery—to accommodate diverse mapping projects.
Offline Functionality: Designed for use in low-tech environments, allowing analogue mapping without digital devices.
Automatic Digitization: Uses AI and computer vision to digitize and georeference markings on paper maps.
Multi-Language Support: Available in English, German, French, and Spanish, broadening its accessibility.
Training and Exercises: Offers a help page and FAQ section with step-by-step introductions and recommendations to support users in their mapping activities.
Mapping local knowledge about disasters, including past experiences, risk perceptions, and vulnerabilities.
Use the tool to visualize and deliberate on community aspirations, enhancing long-term planning efforts.
Helps map areas of environmental degradation and inadequate infrastructure to better understand and address local risks.
The Sketch Map Tool is based on research into flood risk perception and participatory mapping with Field Papers(Field Papers) (Klonner, Usón, et al., 2021). These studies highlight the need to combine both analogue and digital mapping techniques to bridge the gaps between stakeholders and streamline data collection and analysis. The Sketch Map Tool prototype was developed as a part of the Waterproofing Data project (Klonner, Hartmann, et al., 2021; Porto De Albuquerque, 2023; Klonner et al., in preparation), funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
Developed in close collaboration between HeiGIT and the GIScience Research Group at Heidelberg University, the prototype was upgraded with an improved interface and computer vision-based colour detection. Since then, it has been applied and tested within humanitarian and research case studies in urban and rural areas in the Global North and South.
Klonner et al. (2018) & NEOHAZ project. These case studies were based on Field Papers.
Klonner et al. (2021) & NEOHAZ project. These case studies were based on Field Papers.
First analysis of OSM-Data
Generation of different paper formats & geo-referencing
Experiments and the first implementation of colour-detection
Usability evaluation of the Sketch Map Tool in the EVCA context in a case study in Columbia with expert interviews and surveys
First public online version of the Sketch Map Tool, with an improved user interface
Improved marking detection
Integration of satellite images
Improved training and help page
Available now also in German, French and Spanish
Supported by the German Red Cross and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office through the Globalprojekt II, the tool has been enhanced and expanded for broader use within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement and similar organizations. The 2023 relaunch integrated satellite imagery as a base map, improved color detection, and ensured greater software stability. Customized training materials were also developed to accommodate users with varying levels of expertise.
The Sketch Map Tool is now part of the HeiGIT tools, contributing to the reduction of disaster impacts through innovative humanitarian approaches.
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Free geoinformation, methods and software for the benefit of the environment and society.
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Background imagery created with data from OpenStreetMap contributors
