Maps Created by Everybody
What if cities were mapped by the people who lived there? Two workshops invited the Guimarães public to map their city.
When we think of maps we usually consider directions, streets, towns, cities, roads or terrain. We often refer to a map when we are lost or trying to navigate from one place to another.
But maps come in all shapes and sizes. Although they are generally visual representations of areas and space, they can depict in symbols not only regions but also objects, weather, themes, information, and much more. Mapping is a tool which can be used to present all kinds of information according to scale and context.
Despite the massive variation in maps, a consistent feature is their ability to help us understand relationships between things. So in terms of place, maps represent and communicate a shared understanding of territories, landscapes, and cities, and the relationship these things have to us. Maps are influential, they strongly shape human behavior around places - particularly for visitors, but even for citizens too.
However, it is important to remember that most maps are products developed by companies and organisations for a purpose - a purpose which might run counter to what people find useful or valuable, or in some cases, even ethical.
But what if the maps that we use were created by the people that use them? What if the maps of our cities were created by its citizens, rather than by organisations and governments?
As part of the Open City strand of Guimarães 2012, writer and technologist James Bridle was commissioned to deliver two workshops, Walking the Streets, and Walking the Sky. Both workshops involved citizens of Guimarães in mapping areas of the city. Walking the Sky used balloons to take aerial photos of the city, while Walking the City encouraged participants to annotate existing maps. The idea was to alter the reality of the city by asking the public to assist in mapping it using easy, accessible tools.
In this video, James Bridle talks to Guimarães TV about Walking the Sky.
Related Links:
James Bridle
James Bridle: Walking the Sky pictures
James Bridle: Walking the Streets pictures
Notebook: Mapping Workshop, Guimarães
Ended in May 2012