Participatory mapping (PM) solutions have become common in many sectors of society to enhance engagement of the local communities in planning processes. Especially in data scarce regions, like Africa, PM that captures local knowledge in spatially explicit form is an important tool for integrating previously non-existent spatial knowledge in to collaborative planning. Despite the increasing usage of PM solutions, there still lies a gap in our knowledge of the influence and enabling factors of PM adoption in real-world decision-making processes. We studied practitioners’ and participants’ perceptions on benefits and limitations of PM that uses high-resolution remote sensing imagery to engage with participants in six use cases in Tanzania. We conducted interviews and one group discussion with practitioners, and feedback surveys among PM participants. According to the experiences of the practitioners and participants, PM methods based on high-resolution remote sensing images have increased practitioners’ work quality and professional competence, and enhanced participants’ active participation and spatial understanding for informed decision-making. Technical challenges and lack of skilled experts and institutional support were commonly identified limitations. Based on the users’ perceptions we identified previously recognized enabling factors such as supportive policy environment but also context specific factors; removal of disincentives and wider awareness raising. Moreover, advocacy among policymakers on the benefits of participatory decision-making and geospatial technologies is needed to build their ownership of the new governance practices.

参与式制图 (PM) 解决方案已在社会的许多部门变得普遍，以加强当地社区在规划过程中的参与。特别是在非洲等数据稀缺地区，以空间明确形式获取本地知识的 PM 是将以前不存在的空间知识整合到协作规划中的重要工具。尽管 PM 解决方案的使用越来越多，但我们对 PM 在现实世界决策过程中采用的影响和促成因素的了解仍然存在差距。我们研究了从业者和参与者对 PM 的好处和局限性的看法，PM 使用高分辨率遥感图像与坦桑尼亚的六个用例中的参与者互动。我们与从业者进行了访谈和一组讨论，并在 PM 参与者中进行了反馈调查。根据从业者和参与者的经验，基于高分辨率遥感图像的PM方法提高了从业者的工作质量和专业能力，增强了参与者对知情决策的积极参与和空间理解。技术挑战以及缺乏熟练的专家和机构支持是普遍认为的局限性。根据用户的看法，我们确定了先前公认的有利因素，例如支持性政策环境以及特定于背景的因素；消除不利因素和更广泛地提高认识。此外，决策者需要宣传参与式决策和地理空间技术的好处，以建立他们对新治理实践的所有权。