Critical cartography 2.0: From “participatory mapping” to authored visualizations of power and people

Abstract

This article reviews the state of “critical cartography” which is being experimented with exuberance in a number of disciplines and arenas: geographers, community development activists, artists, and new media innovators, to name a few. The promise and possibilities of debunking and retooling cartography are significant: by opening up who can make a map and the kinds of maps that are made, overlooked phenomena can be reclaimed, different perspectives can be made apparent, and new knowledge constructed. However, the conditions under which the emancipatory potential of critical cartography might be realized need to be investigated. This article critiques the claims that current new mapping practices increase participation and democracy and outlines four issues critical cartography needs to further develop in order to increase its potential: 1) greater reflexivity on the critical cartographer's own position and influence of the project, 2) acknowledgement of the choices made of what not to include in the map, 3) greater consideration about the politics of aesthetics, 4) expanded search for deeper social engagement with new mapping projects. The article also discusses these issues through a case study map project of street vendors contesting the use of sidewalk space in Ho Chi Minh City. It explores the qualities a non-participatory, authored map project might engender critical visualization through processes of spatial ethnography.