Maps and Protest

Résumé :

The political power of maps can be initially approached with a Foucauldian lens to show how maps can be considered to be “discourse,” a way of not only displaying spatial information but organizing geographical knowledge that structures a collective understanding of situations. The spread of mobile technologies has transformed maps and mapping, and along with counter-mapping have become powerful tools for challenging the dominant spatial order and its representations. Three broad types of maps related to protest activities can be identified: maps of protests that locate the site of rallies and demonstrations; maps to protest that are agenda-driven either because they challenge existing representations or they make problems in governance visible, and maps for protest that enable and promote alternative and emancipatory uses of space.