The Future of Geo is Decentralized

Alyssa explores the distributed elements of blockchain and spatial technologies as the next generation of location.

Alyssa is our OpenStreetMap advisor and Business consultant. She works at the intersection of geospatial & blockchain. A product architect of business development, she is a board member of @OpenStreetMap US & previous executive @opengeo @boundless @mapzen. Get in touch.

For over a decade I have helped build decentralized geospatial communities and products. I’ve done decentralized geo by supporting the creation and adoption of open geospatial technologies, standards, and community.

It’s of note for me then, that decentralization is the core value of blockchain.

Decentralization redistributes power back to people, without the control of a single authority. Decentralization has the unique ability to give people agency over their rights, their data, their vote and… their place in the physical world. Decentralization is why — as an open geospatial professional — I am excited about FOAM’s work to bring geo to the blockchain.

The Carta Marina, the first map of the Nordic countries of the 16th century. The map of charted and uncharted territories are feats of imagination and marksmanship. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carta_marina

Perhaps more than any other common technology, the history of geospatial is one of centralization. From its military beginnings to its navigation portfolio, physical space has long been defined by single actors. But as Paul Ford writes in his story of the mapping empire, “system of latitude and longitude is among the finest achievements of humankind.” So for me, an open decentralized geospatial has never been about what is wrong, but rather about what is possible.

I have seen immense value of open decentralized processes and technologies when applied to the craft of geospatial. From the Haiti earthquake in 2010 to Hurricane Maria’s current recovery efforts, look to any Volunteer Geographic Information (VGI) coordination in the wake of a natural disaster for proof of geospatial decentralized value.