Another Politics Is Possible: Neogeographies, Visual Spatial Tactics, and Political Formation

Abstract

Neogeography – the use of interactive online mapping technologies, often by laypersons or grassroots groups – continues its rapid growth, as do debates about its implications for spatial data and map quality, public spatial literacy, and the digital divide. Ongoing efforts to understand whether and how neogeography might enable the participation, influence, and agency of less powerful social actors require greater attention to theorizing neogeography politics. Existing work, tacitly or explicitly, tends to theorize these politics in ways that align with Michel de Certeau's notion of “strategy” or its conceptual partner, “tactics.” We argue that a neogeography politics conceived as “strategy” has inherent limits and that the political significance of neogeography “tactics” is even more foundational than has been understood thus far. Recent work has shown neogeography to be a powerful site of political action or engagement, but our evidence suggests further that visual spatial tactics in neogeography are also key sites of political formation. Neogeography tactics are significant not just as a site of resistance or political action by less powerful actors but also as practices that contribute to the formation of political subjects, mobilized social groups, and shared knowledge. Recognizing neogeography as a site of political formation paves the way toward realizing its broader potential in the development and practice of a critical spatial citizenship. We develop these arguments from a three-year neogeography project conducted with young teens.