Abstract
More often than not, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) excludes emotion and qualitative analysis from studies of people-place relationships in favor of quantitative approaches. We employ emotional cartography as a form of qualitative GIS (qualGIS) to elevate emotions from the periphery to the center of dialogue about children's well-being. We highlight the ontological parallels between qualGIS, emotional cartography and children in society, and advance emotion maps as a way to visualize different spatial and emotional realities. In reflecting upon the felt geography of our own childhood places, we affirm the importance of children's emotional attachments to places as well as the centrality of ‘messy’ human experiences in GIS. To conclude, we discuss the implications of emotional cartography for researchers, planners and GIS, paying special attention to children's well-being amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this includes a call to ‘witness’ and to foster spatial empathy among those advocating for children.
Published Version
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