Arun Ganesh: Open source volunteer-driven mapping to fix information asymmetry

Arun Ganesh presents Amche Atlas (amche.in), an open-source, volunteer-driven mapping project working to make Goa's complex land-use masterplan accessible to the public. Using crowdsourced data and AI-assisted development, the project tackles the information asymmetry created when detailed spatial plans — governing land use down to individual parcels — are published in formats too costly or inaccessible for ordinary citizens to use. The talk shows how open-source tools and collective citizen effort can democratize access to geographic information, with implications far beyond Goa. This talk is a part of IIID VisionPlus 2026 conference "Information design and civic administration: trust, tradition and toxicity".