The power of visualization choices:

Abstract

Maps are representations of the world. They offer summaries or simplifications of data that are collected, attempt to reveal unknowns, to simplify and communicate complex spatial phenomena. Numerous decisions are made in the process of creating a map. Seemingly inconsequential variations of cartographic design decisions offer many ways to illustrate this process. We use an open dataset related to the United Nations Gender Inequality Index to demonstrate design decision points and their output. As governments are increasingly making data open to the public, and map-making tools and software are now more accessible online, these considerations are important both for those making and reading maps online.

“That is why users do not understand the maps we make for them”: Cartographic gaps between experts and domestic workers and the Right to the City

“…The central argument is twofold in response to the following statement: “Cartography has historically been associated with positivist forms of knowledge production and may help answer questions about what and where. Feminist methodologies are associated with qualitative research and can best answer questions about why and how” (Ricker et al, 2020:410). Part one analyzes two “expert” maps of Bogotá and Medellín’s transport systems, following the logic of modernization and rationalization.…”

“…Maps are a coded representation of reality based on specific information and illustrated by lines, colors, textures, and conventions (Desimini, 2019:19). When designed effectively, maps tell stories, provide dynamic information about geographic patterns at multiple scales, and show trends across various time scales (Ricker et al, 2020). They usefully capture data and provide a starting point to statistically analyze it visually (Vaughan, 2018:7).…”

“…They usefully capture data and provide a starting point to statistically analyze it visually (Vaughan, 2018:7). A map should help whoever reads and uses it to understand a concept or idea quickly, and it should be legible (Lynch, 1960; Ricker et al, 2020).…”

“…However, maps often contain errors; people with individual positionalities and epistemologies, who undergo interrelated processes and negotiations, create them (Elwood, 2009; Kennedy et al, 2016; Pavlovskaya, 2018; Vaughan, 2018). The database, the missing relevant data, who is included or excluded in the information, and the editing details involve crucial decisions in a map’s final design (Pavlovskaya and St. Martin, 2007; Ricker et al, 2020). They manifest power and authority over the truth, which offers direct and indirect messages through representations and symbols (Wood, 1992; Pickles, 1995; MacEachren, 2004).…”

“…The idea of maps’ objectivity precisely comes from this exercise of taking distance. However, feminist geography considers “God’s eye” authoritative, unquestionable, and objective, although cartographers know that making a map entails constant indeterminacy (Ricker et al, 2020:410).…”