Volunteered Geographic Information in Contested Lands: A Comparative Analysis of Israeli and Palestinian Contributions to Historical Site Documentation on OpenStreetMap in the West Bank
Discuss this preprint
Start a discussion What are Sciety discussions?Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
This study investigates disparities in the documentation of historical sites in the West Bank on OpenStreetMap (OSM) by Palestinian and Israeli contributors. Employing spatial and statistical analyses, we examine the relationship between contribution size, geopolitical divisions, and the representation of heritage sites. Our findings reveal a significant imbalance, with Israeli contributions overwhelmingly surpassing those of Palestinians in both quantity and spatial coverage. The study demonstrates how Volunteer Geographic Information (VGI) platforms, such as OSM, serve as contested spaces where mapping practices reinforce existing power asymmetries, reflecting broader territorial and narrative conflicts in the region.
