Community Mapping Center
Community Mapping Center is a Seoul-based non-profit organization that develops participatory GIS platforms (Mappler, LivingBox) enabling citizens, governments, and educational institutions to collect and visualize community geographic data across South Korea.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersMapo, South Korea
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Community Mapping Center does
Community Mapping Center (사단법인 커뮤니티매핑센터) is a Seoul-based non-profit corporation founded in March 2013 by Dr. Im Wansoo, a professor at Meharry Medical College in the United States who pioneered community participatory mapping with the 2005 New York Restroom Online Map and the 2012 Hurricane Sandy Gas Station Map. The organization enables citizens, community members, and institutional partners to systematically collect, visualize, and share local geographic information through its platforms — primarily Mappler (a web and Android community mapping platform) and LivingBox (a mobile application for barrier-free accessibility data collection). It also offers custom-tailored applications built to specific client requirements. Underlying technology combines smartphone-based field data collection apps, web-based mapping interfaces, and cloud infrastructure for data aggregation and visualization, with no commercial sales motion; the platform is freely accessible for civic projects.
The organization serves five primary customer segments: individual citizens and community residents documenting neighborhood issues; local governments and public institutions seeking citizen engagement data; K-12 educational institutions using mapping as a civic learning tool; people with disabilities and mobility needs requiring accessibility information; and NGOs and civil society organizations conducting environmental and cultural heritage research. Named engagements span Seoul Metropolitan Government, Gwangju Metropolitan City Volunteer Center, Gwangmyeong City Education Cooperation Support Center, Korea Citibank, Yeoju Jeil High School, Jinju Cultural Tourism Foundation, the Jeju Biennale Organizing Committee, Yangsan City Disabled Welfare Center, and numerous additional municipal and institutional partners across South Korea.
Community Mapping Center operates a non-profit revenue model combining three streams: donations and sponsorships (as a Korean public interest corporation eligible for tax-deductible contributions); government and public institution project contracts with local governments and education offices; and education/workshop services delivered to schools and organizations. The center has completed over 500 community mapping projects since founding across accessibility, environment, safety, education, culture, and urban regeneration verticals, accumulating datasets including 42,857 accessibility data points and 12,298 volunteer participants on the BefMap platform. It was re-designated as a public interest corporation for 2026-2031 and won the Google Impact Challenge Korea in 2016.
Community Mapping Center firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Community Mapping Center
- Legal name
- 사단법인 커뮤니티매핑센터
- Website
- https://cmckorea.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Community Mapping Center is a Seoul-based non-profit organization that develops participatory GIS platforms (Mappler, LivingBox) enabling citizens, governments, and educational institutions to collect and visualize community geographic data across South Korea.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Community Mapping Center industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Civic Technology / Community Participatory Mapping Services
- NAICS
- Surveying and Mapping (except Geophysical) Services (541370)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Local & Neighborhood Communities (BPAMABAG), Local & City Guide Content Aggregators (MPACAKAJ)
Keywords
Where Community Mapping Center is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Mapo
- HQ country
- South Korea
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Community Mapping Center business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Donations and Sponsorships: The center operates as a non-profit incorporated association (사단법인) and relies on donations and sponsorship income. It is registered as a qualified donation-receiving organization in Korea, enabling tax-deductible contributions. The center publishes annual donation collection and utilization reports.
- Government and Public Institution Project Contracts: Revenue is generated through government contracts and project grants. The center conducts community mapping projects commissioned by local governments, education offices, and public institutions. Examples include projects with 진주시 문화도시지원센터, 광명시교육협력지원센터, 광주광역시 자원봉사센터, and various Seoul Metropolitan Government departments.
- Education and Workshop Services: The center provides community mapping education, workshops, and training programs to schools, government agencies, and civil society organizations. These training services are delivered in exchange for program fees, including big data education workshops for K-12 teachers and specialized mapping workshops for partner organizations.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Community Mapping Center product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Community Mapping Center delivers participatory community mapping services and platforms that enable citizens, governments, and organizations to collect, share, and visualize location-based local information. Its core offerings include the Mappler web-and-mobile mapping platform, the LivingBox accessibility data collection app, custom-tailored apps for specific projects, project-based community mapping programs for local governments and schools, and education and workshop services on participatory GIS methodology.
Product overview
Community Mapping Center operates a portfolio of interconnected community-mapping tools and platforms. The core product is the Mappler (매플러) platform, a web-and-mobile community mapping solution providing data collection, analysis, and visualization. Alongside it, the organization offers specialized apps including the LivingBox (리빙박스) app for barrier-free accessibility mapping, and custom-tailored apps (맞춤앱) built to individual client specifications. The BestFriend Map (베프지도 / BFZido) was a dedicated barrier-free mapping platform and app for transportation-vulnerable populations; its site has been discontinued and users redirected to LivingBox. The organization also publishes books documenting its methodology and impact. All products are tied together by the center's mission of participatory community mapping to address social issues across safety, environment, disability, health, education, culture, and urban regeneration.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- 매플러 (Mappler): Community mapping platform developed by Community Mapping Center for information collection, analysis, and visualization. Available as web and app platforms.
- 베프지도 (BefMap)
- 리빙박스 (LivingBox)
Products and services
- Mappler (매플러) A community participatory mapping platform available as a web platform and Android mobile app that enables citizens to record location-based data with photos and attributes on interactive online maps; targeted at community members, schools, and government partners conducting civic mapping projects.
- LivingBox (리빙박스) A mobile application for barrier-free accessibility data collection and visualization, used for wheelchair-accessible facility mapping and visual disability pedestrian environment surveys via checklists and photo-based data entry; targeted at volunteer mappers, accessibility advocates, and disabled welfare organizations.
- Custom Individual Apps (맞춤앱) Tailor-made mobile applications built to client specifications for specific community mapping projects, offered as standalone apps with additional features and customization beyond the standard Mappler platform; targeted at partner organizations and CSR programs requiring customized mapping solutions.
- Book: 세상과 나를 바꾸는 지도, 커뮤니티매핑 Published book by founder Im Wansoo documenting community mapping methodology and stories of its impact on society and individuals, covering projects from the New York Restroom Map to civic mapping in Korea.
- Book: 어웨이킹 기술로 사람과 사람을 잇는 커뮤니티매핑 이야기 Published book by founder Im Wansoo exploring community mapping as a technology for connecting people, with case studies on COVID-19 mask maps, fine dust maps, and disability transportation safety maps.
Quantifiable outcome
- 500+ community mapping projects completed since 2013 across safety, environment, disability, education, and culture sectors
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Community Mapping Center
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Community Mapping Center technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Community Mapping Center partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Korea CitibankminorKorea Citibank employees and volunteers (approximately 300 participants) conducted barrier-free accessibility mapping for visual disability pedestrian environment improvement across major Seoul locations. The center provided the LivingBox platform, training, and methodology for the field surveys.
- Yangsan City Disabled Welfare CenterminorPartnered to conduct 'Village Outing with Wheels' — a disability accessibility community mapping workshop where persons with disabilities and community residents used mobility aids to survey and document accessibility barriers in the village environment.
- Gwangju Metropolitan City Volunteer CentercoreCollaborated with the Gwangju Volunteer Center to conduct stormwater drain safety community mapping across all five districts of Gwangju. 648 volunteers participated in 491 mapping sessions using the LivingBox app to document drainage infrastructure conditions for flood disaster preparedness.
- Jeju Biennale Organizing CommitteecoreParticipated as a featured artist/researcher in the 4th Jeju Biennale 2024. The center led a marine debris community mapping project with artists, environmental groups, and citizens. Data collected was displayed as an art installation under the biennale's 'Drift' theme.
- Jinju Cultural Tourism Foundation (Cultural City Support Center)corePartnered with the Jinju Cultural City preparatory project to conduct community mapping of Jinju's central market and morning market. The project involved citizen researchers documenting merchant history and cultural heritage, creating a 'Jinju Memory Map' connected to a citizen data platform.
- Gwangmyeong City Education Cooperation Support CentercoreDelivered the 'Village Education Curriculum with Community Mapping' program across 19 institutions in Gwangmyeong City, reaching 913 participants including students, teachers, and community members. The center provided platform access, training, and curriculum integration support for mapping projects on waste, safety, and local culture.
- Gyeonggi Provincial GovernmentminorConducted community mapping projects on coastal environmental pollution and youth crisis vulnerability mapping across Gyeonggi Province, supporting provincial disaster preparedness and youth safety initiatives.
- Nowon 50 Plus Center (노원50플러스센터)minorSigned an MOU for social contribution job program expansion. The center delivered community mapping academy courses and empathy map creation projects for seniors aged 50 and above in Nowon-gu, Seoul.
- Citizens' Coalition for Barrier-Free Living Environment (장애물없는생활환경시민연대)minorSigned an MOU for sharing disability accessibility facility information, enabling joint advocacy and data collection campaigns for barrier-free accessibility improvements across Seoul.
- GooglecoreGoogle selected the center's 'Building a World Without Barriers' project as the winner of the Google Impact Challenge in Korea (2016). This partnership provided funding and platform support for developing the BefMap (베프지도) app for barrier-free accessibility mapping. The collaboration established the center's international credibility and enabled development of mobile-based citizen science tools.
- Korean Takeda Pharmaceutical (한국다케다제약)minorCSR partnership for multi-year Seoul restroom mapping projects (2015-2017). Takeda supported the center's bathroom accessibility mapping initiative as part of its corporate social responsibility program.
- Severe Disability Independent Living Center (중증장애인독립생활연대)coreLong-standing partnership focused on disability accessibility mapping projects including subway accessibility, parking violation, cultural space, accessible restaurants, and health walking event mapping. This partnership has been active since 2011.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Community Mapping Center competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT): Non-profit that mobilizes volunteer communities to create open geographic data for humanitarian and development purposes. Directly comparable to CMC's model of using citizens to map accessibility, disaster risk, and social issues.
- PlaceSpeak: Civic engagement platform that uses location-based tools for verified community consultation. Comparable to CMC in combining geographic data with citizen participation for local government and community decision-making.
- CitizenLab: Civic engagement platform used by 300+ governments for citizen participation, including place-based input. Comparable to CMC's community mapping work with local governments, though delivered as commercial SaaS rather than non-profit.
- Ushahidi: Non-profit technology company building open-source tools for crowdsourced data collection and visualization, particularly for civic activism and crisis response. Comparable to CMC's crisis-response mapping work (mask maps, restroom maps, disaster mapping).
- Maptionnaire: Software platform for community participation mapping and PPGIS (public participation GIS) used by urban planners and researchers. Directly comparable to Mappler in enabling participatory mapping workflows for civic engagement.
- Wikimapia: Open-content collaborative mapping project that lets users add geographic information. Comparable as a community-edited map platform, though Wikimapia focuses on global place descriptions rather than CMC's social-issue mapping specialization.
- Mapeo: Open-source tool for collaborative territorial mapping used by Indigenous and rural communities. Comparable as a participatory mapping platform designed for community-led geographic documentation of local issues.
- OpenStreetMap Foundation: Global non-profit foundation supporting community-contributed map data. Highly comparable to CMC as both operate citizen-driven mapping platforms that aggregate volunteered geographic information for open use.
Broad incumbents
- Mapillary (Meta): Now owned by Meta, Mapillary is a community-contributed street-level imagery platform integrated with OpenStreetMap. Comparable as a citizen-driven mapping data layer, though with broader commercial backing and global scale rather than community-niche focus.
Emerging players
- KoBoToolbox (Harvard Humanitarian Initiative): Open-source toolkit for field data collection used by humanitarian and research organizations. Comparable to LivingBox as a mobile-based community data collection tool with GIS visualization, though broader in scope beyond mapping.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Community Mapping Center social profiles
Digital presenceCommunity Mapping Center compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Community Mapping Center financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Community Mapping Center leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Community Mapping Center funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Community Mapping Center M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Community Mapping Center
What does Community Mapping Center do?
Community Mapping Center delivers participatory community mapping services and platforms that enable citizens, governments, and organizations to collect, share, and visualize location-based local information. Its core offerings include the Mappler web-and-mobile mapping platform, the LivingBox accessibility data collection app, custom-tailored apps for specific projects, project-based community mapping programs for local governments and schools, and education and workshop services on participatory GIS methodology.
Is Community Mapping Center a public or private company?
Community Mapping Center is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Community Mapping Center founded?
Community Mapping Center was founded in 2013.
Where is Community Mapping Center based?
Community Mapping Center is headquartered in Mapo, South Korea, in the Asia region.
How does Community Mapping Center make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Donations and Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are government and Public Institution Project Contracts and education and Workshop Services.
Who are Community Mapping Center's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), PlaceSpeak, CitizenLab, Ushahidi, Maptionnaire, Wikimapia, Mapeo and OpenStreetMap Foundation. Mapillary (Meta) is listed as a broad incumbent. KoBoToolbox (Harvard Humanitarian Initiative) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Community Mapping Center have an API?
No public API is recorded for Community Mapping Center.
What industry is Community Mapping Center in?
Community Mapping Center's product category is Civic Technology / Community Participatory Mapping Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMANAK, GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAMABAG, Local & Neighborhood Communities. Its NAICS code is 541370 and its SIC code is 8300.