Critical Cartography Through Intentional Re/Misuse

Due: 1/29

“Data are always collected for a specific purpose, by a combination of people, technology, money, commerce, and government.” (Kurgan 2013, 35)

The main task

Find two digital spatial datasets about a place (that is not New York City) that are related to a topic that interests you and have some relevance to one another. Create a single map which uses these two datasets together to make an argument that was likely not intended by the original creator(s) of either dataset.

Requirements

• The place you select must be somewhere that you have lived and/or spent a significant enough amount of time to know something about lived experience there.

• I suggest working with vector datasets for this assignment (but not required). When looking for vector geospatial data you should be looking for one of these file types:
  • shapefile
  • geojson
  • KML/KMZ
  • a csv with latitude and longitude coordinates (review tutorial 2 for how to open something like this)

• if you plan to use raster data you should be looking for something with a ‘.tif’ format or that is called a ‘geoTIFF’ or ‘geoJPG’

• Investigate the origins of your two datasets. Some starting points to cover (at a minimum): who made the data? what is/was the intended use(s) the data? when was the data made? how was it made?

• Research the appropriate projected coordinate reference system to use for your chosen place

• Consider the role that the title and other map elements can play in assisting you in making your argument clear

Format

• Your final map must be a designed map composition on a single slide with a 16:9 aspect ratio. You are encouraged to select one of the map examples discussed on 1/15 and imitate its graphic style.
• Your designed map composition must include:
  • title
  • legend
  • scale bar
  • north arrow (your map doesn’t need to have north be pointing vertically…)
  • citations for all data sources
  • projection used
  • your name

Submission

• Upload your map:
  • as a pdf to Canvas
  • add it to the pin-up Google Slides presentation for 1/29 in the course Google Drive folder

Starting points/guidance

For sources for spatial datasets see:

• Columbia Library Geodata Portal
• Local and State Government operated Open Data Portals
• University Mapping and/or Research Centers. For example:
  • Eviction Lab. “Eviction Filing Rate & Evictions Rate.” Princeton University
  • Beirut Urban Lab, “Beirut Built Environment Database”