Another Politics Is Possible: Neogeographies, Visual Spatial Tactics, and Political Formation

Abstract

Neogeography -the use of interactive online mapping technologies, often by laypersons or grassroots groups -continues its rapid growth, as do debates about its implications for spatial data and map quality, public spatial literacy, and the digital divide. Ongoing efforts to understand whether and how neogeography might enable the participation, influence, and agency of less powerful social actors require greater attention to theorizing neogeography politics. Existing work, tacitly or explicitly, tends to theorize these politics in ways that align with Michel de Certeau's notion of ''strategy'' or its conceptual partner, ''tactics. '' We argue that a neogeography politics conceived as ''strategy'' has inherent limits and that the political significance of neogeography ''tactics'' is even more foundational than has been understood thus far. Recent work has shown neogeography to be a powerful site of political action or engagement, but our evidence suggests further that visual spatial tactics in neogeography are also key sites of political formation. Neogeography tactics are significant not just as a site of resistance or political action by less powerful actors but also as practices that contribute to the formation of political subjects, mobilized social groups, and shared knowledge. Recognizing neogeography as a site of political formation paves the way toward realizing its broader potential in the development and practice of a critical spatial citizenship. We develop these arguments from a three-year neogeography project conducted with young teens. RÉSUMÉSi la néogéographie -l'utilisation de technologies pour la cartographie interactive en ligne, souvent par des amateurs ou des groupes communautaires -poursuit sa croissance rapide, il en est de même des débats concernant ses répercussions sur les données spatiales et la qualité des cartes, la littératie spatiale publique et le fossé numérique. Il faudrait consacrer plus d'efforts et d'attention afin de mieux comprendre comment la néogéographie pourrait favoriser la participation, ainsi que l'effet et le rôle d'agents sociaux moins puissants, afin d'établir une théorie concernant les politiques de la néogéographie. Les travaux existants ont tendance, implicitement ou explicitement, à élaborer des théories sur ces politiques d'une manière qui s'harmonise avec la notion de « stratégie » de Michel de Certeau ou celle de son partenaire conceptuel, « tactique ». L'argument énoncé dans l'article est qu'une politique de la néogéographie conçue comme « stratégie » possède des limites inhérentes et que l'importance politique des « tactiques » néogéographiques serait encore plus essentielle que ce qu'on a cru jusqu'à présent. De récents travaux ont montré que la néogéographie peut devenir un moyen puissant d'action politique ou d'engagement, mais nos résultats suggèrent que les tactiques spatiales visuelles en néogéographie sont aussi des sites clés de formation politique. Les tactiques néogéographiques sont importantes non seulement comme site de résistance ou d'action pol...

Mapping the Far Right: Geomedia in an Educational Response to Right-Wing Extremism

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“…Beide beziehen sich auf die soziale Aneignung von Raum und stützen sich auf sozialwissenschaftliche Th eorien der Raumaneignung (vgl. Elwood & Mitchell 2013 …”

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