Empower Through Maps Reclaiming the Power of Information Through Participation
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DEGREE PROJECT IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, SECOND CYCLE, 15 CREDITS STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2017 Empower Through Maps Reclaiming the Power of Information through Participation ANDREA GONZALEZ PALOS KTH ROYAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT TRITA SoM EX 2017-29 www.kth.se EMPO ERM through MAPS Reclaiming the Power of Information through Participation Andrea González Palos TABLE OF CONTENTS / Abstract 4 Introduction 7 Empowering Through Maps: I Reclaiming the Power of Information through Participation Empowerment and Participation 13 Reclaiming the Power of Maps Andrea Gonzalez Palos 2017 31 New Forms of Mapping 34 Keywords: maps, participation, Technology’s role in participation urbanism, empowerment, community, 42 Mexico City, GIS Criticism and Challenges 48 II IV AG218X Degree Project in Urban Studies, Second Cycle 15.0 credits Mapping Toolkit 53 Participatory Mapping: Best Practices 169 Masters Programme in Urbanism Studies, 60.0 credits III / School of Architecture and the Built Environment Mapping Mexico City 99 Sources and Cited Works 182 KTH Royal Institute of Technology Re-imagining Mexico City 101 Acknowledgments 189 Stockholm, Sweden Mapping Practices: What’s Next? 148 ABSTRACT It is widely claimed that geographic Mapping has evolved from being Participatory Mapping in Practice: information and maps are highly done by and for figures of power and Re-Imagining Mexico City through political. Many researchers have authority, to representing the issues, Maps. detailed the source of the power of needs and conditions of everyday users. maps and their ability to serve specific When mapping is reclaimed by the The way a city is portrayed, through interests, represent certain ideologies people, they can be used to propose images, pictures, texts or maps, has and perpetuate systems of exclusion alternatives to the image and language a great influence on how people (Harley, 1988; Harvey, 1998; Wood, of power and become a medium for perceive and understand it. In the 1992). conversation or protest. case of Mexico City, a metropolis Maps can be both the products and the of more than 20 million inhabitants, generators of power, thus assigning the By participating in the process, citizens creating visualizations of its complex mapmaker a great responsibility in the can engage in dialogue with different dynamics can be challenging. A city information that they choose or not to stakeholders and government officials, as complex and populated, generates a represent and how they decide to do acquire new skills and knowledge, be huge amount of information every day, it. Representing the same information more informed and generate judgments information useful for planners, who in different ways, or choosing to omit about issues that concern them and need to understand how the city works certain parts of it and heighten others exercise their political power. at a ground level. However, planning is can reveal very different conclusions still very much based on 1980’s zoning and lead to multiple interpretations. In the end, it is important to remember maps, without a deeper understanding that making the map is not the end of social, ecological and political issues In the urbanism field, information often of the process, but the beginning, (Leal 2013). In recent years grassroots comes in extensive policy documents, as information has to be processed, organizations, bottom-up projects and development plans and land use maps. analyzed and discussed in a transparent researchers have taken to the task of It is relevant to expand the sources and democratic manner as well. Cities registering new types of information. of information that urbanists use are in constant growth and evolution Mapping workshops, on-line databases, when performing their job. Interest in and so the process of updating the GIS maps, VGI, all provide a different mapping is high, made more accessible information is ongoing. Maps should perspective on the city to the formal and through tools like Google Earth and be kept updated and accessible in order institutionalized one that planners have GIS software and with new forms for them to remain as a relevant tool for today. How does the city look like under of participatory mapping practices. empowerment. this new light? What can we learn? 4 5 INTRODUCTION Background Cartography constructs representations empires. “As the map affirms the state, of space. Through its symbols, format the state affirms the map” (Wood 2010, and graphic conventions, it anchors space 33). to ideologies, subjective appreciations and objective measurements and Once we acknowledge that maps observations. Through maps, ideas and are propositions and not unbiased agendas are presented as concrete, and representations, we can see the potential form the base of our knowledge about of them as instruments for participation. the spaces we inhabit. Throughout Those with the ability to generate their history, cartography has been led by the own cartographies, will be able to ones in power. To map a place was to represent their point of view. establish dominance over it, a sense of ownership and knowledge. The map was In order to understand the importance founded upon the interest of organizing of maps in establishing information and visualizing territories, borders and that we deem true and reliable, we must 7 understand the dynamics of power that are at play in the cartographic process. Who gathers or produces the data to be used, what information is shown in the map and how it is represented, are all elements that will influence in the final result, and therefore, in the display of information that we will consider to be true. Maps are anything but objective. The truths expressed in maps, have changed through the years. When we look at different representations of the earth, its continents, its territories, even its shape, they have all been consequences of the era’s knowledge and ideologies. Even one of the most known images of the world today, that one we observe in any satellite view on airplanes, computers or our phones, is not 100% true. Composed of over 10,000 images taken by NASA over a course of 100 days, it shows an image of earth where it is day everywhere, there are no clouds and the forests are at its greenest. This image is a perfect reconstruction of what Earth is, however it doesn’t represent reality. It can never be the same season and hour across the whole planet at the same time. The map doesn’t show the truth, but creates its own image or reality, by carefully choosing what and what not display and how to do it. NASA/Reto Stöckli 8 9 In recent years, cartography has Both Wood (2010) and Peluso (1995), Objective and Methodology can lead to it. I will then describe evolved into a more inclusive path. have made a comparison between maps current trends in mapping and the role The introduction of Internet map and literacy. Once an activity reserved The topic of cartography has been that technology plays in redefining how services, along with the possibility to for an elite, reading and writing became studied by many and on different we think of maps and map making. create custom maps has allowed for widely available for everyone with the perspectives, from historical (Harley In a second section, I propose a mapping a diversification of the cartographic spread of print, creating a huge impact 1987) to socio-political (Wood 1992; toolkit that summarizes the key points profession. in the availability of knowledge and the Kosek 1998). The role of maps in for implementing new participatory Maps are a part of our lives now more ability of a wider audience to participate relation to power has also been the mapping methods in practice. The aim is than ever; we use them to navigate in its consumption and production. subject of discussion amongst scholars to create a readily accessible document through cities, guide us as tourists and When mapping is reclaimed by the of geography and urbanism (Gaventa with examples of good practices, pros locals, represent information and even to people, they can be used to propose 1993; Ramasubramanian 2001). and cons for different methodologies, play games. It is the ubiquitous presence alternatives to the image and language and concrete techniques and steps to take of maps that opens up the opportunity of power and become a medium for With this research, I aspire to create to move the cartographic conversation for new perspectives being represented conversation or protest. a comprehensive overview of forward. in them. mapping practices today, with focus In the third section, I will evaluate on participatory methods. I aim to participatory mapping practices in understand the intersection between the Mexico City, analyzing the methodology process of generating a map and through used and the types of participation and it generating empowerment. resulting empowerment in each case. I will then use the information gathered With a focus on urbanism, I will first through these mappings to generate my MAPS! MAPS! make a review on theories regarding own cartographies, cross referencing and the power of maps, specifically in cities overlapping information to generate a and their inhabitants. I will explore the new perspective on the city’s conditions. changes in the role of the cartographer, I hope to display the importance that the new tools and possibilities, and the these alternatives forms of mapping need for generating a common language have had in generating new knowledge between professionals and citizens. about the city, and the relevance of the I will discuss the democratization data gathered in generating debates and of maps and how to generate a more supporting different perspectives. inclusive mapping practice. Afterwards, The document concludes with a series MAPS! MAPS! I will mention the different types of examples from the across the globe, of empowerment and discuss how where mapping has been used in creative collecting and visualizing information and empowering ways.