Digital Cartography of the Historic Centre of São Luís, Brazil

Abstract

This research aims to reveal the educational contributions of digital cartography with Google My Maps aimed at the democratization of cultural goods and apparatus, and exercise of citizenship in the Historic Centre of São Luís. It consists of a qualitative study that starts from the bibliographical research and is based on the documentary and field research for the construction of a map in the digital platform Google My Maps with the main cultural spaces existing in the Historical Centre of São Luís, Maranhão. It discusses the concepts of cultural citizenship as a prerequisite for the recognition of cultural diversity and democratization of its assets, considering the views of authors like Canclini (2015), Santos (2001). It addresses topics about the Historical Centre of São Luís based on Andrès (1998) and Figueiredo (2012). The study culturally maps the Historic Centre of São Luís, emphasizing the need for demarcation of cultural spaces and access to their assets by the population, as well as it reflects on their contributions to education, research, cultural diversity and the exercise of cultural citizenship. It presents a digital mapping of cultural apparatus in the Historic Centre of São Luís and ratifies the importance of technological mediation to increase knowledge and access to the cultural assets at the capital of Maranhão state. It also demonstrates the contribution of Google My Maps both for education and for the effective exercise of cultural citizenship.