Possibilities for and Limitations of Creating Childcare Support Maps through the Voluntary Sector using Participatory Mapping
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Kukimoto, M.; 2Wakabayashi, Y.
1OITA UNIVERSITY Email: kukimoto@oita-u.ac.jp
2TOKYO METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY Email: wakaba@tmu.ac.jp
Abstract
With the spread of the Internet and the digitalization of maps, not only private companies, but also local governments, have been providing online maps containing useful information for residents’ daily lives. In particular, government-provided online maps of childcare support have rapidly increased in Japan. This is because it has become more important for national and local governments to improve their childcare support policies, as Japan faces increased childcare needs caused by both a growing number of working mothers and the necessity to implement countermeasures to offset the declining birthrate. The aim of this study is to examine the possibilities for and limitations of generating childcare support maps in Japan using participatory mapping. An analysis of web-based childcare support maps in Tokyo revealed that interactivity, or user participation, was not necessarily realized in their creation. In addition, since these maps were usually created to facilitate the disclosure of administrative information, they exclude information about for-profit private facilities or shops that could be useful to parents of small children. To overcome these limitations, childcare support maps were made by the voluntary sector in Tokyo. We interviewed two groups of mothers raising children (Group A and Group B) and who have attempted to make these maps as a means of sharing information. Group A is one of the major groups of mothers in the Setagaya Ward in Tokyo. Initially, this group made a kind of web-based childcare support map by receiving technical support from experts in information technology and urban planning. However, Group A abandoned the online map and chose a set of paper maps as a means of sharing information. The know-how to make paper maps was transferred to another voluntary group, Group B in the Meguro Ward, via lectures or informal networks that existed among voluntary groups beyond the territory of local municipalities. The members of Group B do not want to upload the childcare map onto the internet. Their paper maps have a similar style, including some hand-drawn illustrations and useful comments about the reputation of childcare facilities, restaurants, shops, etc. The maps are printed in a compact size for portability. This case study suggests both a possibility for and limitations to the creation of a childcare map by the voluntary sector. Group A faced a difficulty in continuing to upload online childcare maps. One of the reasons that the group abandoned the online map is that users, mainly mothers raising small children, had no time and space to use a PC. The second reason is that they value the role of the paper maps as a “trigger” that causes face-to-face communication among isolated mothers in the local area. The third reason concerns the members’ IT skills. Making or uploading paper maps is easier for members who do not have advanced IT skills than web-based maps. On the other hand, publishing paper maps costs more than uploading online maps; therefore, these voluntary groups’ ability to continue their activity tends to depend on the availability of a local government subsidy. Hence, the range designated by the childcare map tends to be limited to the territory of each local municipality.
Keywords
Participatory Mapping; Voluntary Sector; Childcare Support Maps