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Critical GIS: Mapping with Purpose

May 5, 2025

Lecture: Alternative Visions of the USA

Introduction to Critical GIS

  • Course Details

    • Week 3.1: Doing GIS Critically
    • Instructor: Ryan Pardue
    • Course: GEOG2200 - Mapping Our World
    • Institution: Georgia State University
  • Historical Context

    • Discussion on the role of maps in political power
    • Exploration of alternative uses of maps

History of Critical GIS

  • The GIS Wars
    • Emergence of desktop GIS in the late 1980s
    • Clash between traditional GIScientists and critical geographers
    • Critical geographers' incorporation of Marxist, feminist, postmodern, and poststructural theories
  • Philosophical Differences
    • Early GIS: Positivist approach
    • Critical geographers: Post-positivist, postmodern approach
    • Mutual criticisms and discourse on both sides
  • Friday Harbor Meeting (1993)
    • Attempt to reconcile differences between the two groups
    • Integration of GIS and critical perspectives began

Three Waves of Critical GIS

  • First Wave (1988-1992):
    • Characterized by polemics and mutual distaste
  • Second Wave (1993-1998):
    • Measured objections and mutual engagement
  • Third Wave (1998-2001):
    • Synthesis and combination of approaches

Key Principles of Critical GIS

  • Positionality and Reflexivity:
    • Recognizing the social context of GIS
  • Participation and Democracy:
    • Involving non-experts and alternative knowledge forms
  • Alternative Theoretical Perspectives:
    • Inclusion of indigenous and feminist epistemologies

Doing Critical Mapping

  • Participatory Mapping:
    • Community involvement in mapping
    • Changes political dynamics without changing map appearances
  • Indigenous Mapping:
    • Maps used historically against indigenous peoples
    • New mapping projects counteract this erasure
  • Feminist Mapping:
    • Challenges to traditional views of mapping
    • Revealing gender inequalities
  • Counter-mapping:
    • Oppositional practices such as mapping border issues, housing injustice

Basic Principles of Critique

  1. Examines the grounds of decision-making
  2. Situates knowledge in historical and geographic contexts
  3. Uncovers power and knowledge relationships
  4. Challenges existing categories of thought

Tenets of Critical Geography

  • Oppositional and Activist:
    • Focus on inequality and tangible changes
  • Theoretical:
    • Rejects positivism; embraces critical theory

History of Critical Mapping

  • Notable Figures and Projects:
    • Charles Booth, Florence Kelly, W.E.B. DuBois
    • Detroit Geographic Expedition and Institute
    • Appalachian Land Ownership Survey
    • Birth of environmental justice

Pitfalls of Participatory Mapping

  • The Bowman Expeditions:
    • Misuse of participatory mapping funded by the military
    • Ethical issues with data sharing and military involvement
  • Conclusion:
    • Participatory methods can be repurposed for repressive ends
    • Emphasizes the need for critical awareness in mapping projects