Thesis research proposal
Where I am and where do I hope to go
People’s connections with places are built over time through a series of individual experiences. The plethora of site-specific resources available to people help them attain knowledge through information representations but the holistic understanding of places is created only through real world engagement with the environment. Maps, whether they are paper or digital, provide people with knowledge of their environment. They help them build mental models of places. However, places carry the weight of the history, perspectives, and politics that have created them. Thus, there is a significant need for research that explores how interaction with maps can help people build a deeper understanding of place and facilitate delightful experiences.
Over the last thirty years cartography has gone through massive change — from printed and hand-drawn maps to the arrival of the Universal Map (O’Beirne, 2015). In the current day and age, maps are constantly updated and adjusted according to people’s needs as they perennially keep track of personal location data (O’Beirne, 2015). As supporting technologies evolve, our perception and use of maps is changing. Instances of this can be seen in the integration of virtual assistants that are used for navigation in new vehicles. As a result, people’s understanding location and use of maps is likely to shift with the evolution of autonomous vehicles because people’s mental models of distance and time are likely to be informed by contemporary navigation tools. People have also transitioned from being just consumers to contributors of content on the mapping and navigation platforms. For instance, the Waze app uses swarm intelligence to give people information on the best routes to take. They rely heavily on technology to facilitate their everyday journeys. This is evident when users trust Waze’s algorithms for navigation based on live location data, even if it is counter-intuitive to how they would normally plan the route for a journey.
Maps and location mesh in our daily lives in numerous ways, whether it’s route planning, getting a cab or even location tags on social media posts. Apart from their direct functional use, the mass of geo-spatial data available affords many latent human and natural stories to be created and discovered. As maps bridge the physical and digital worlds, they can become tools to see and interact with physical spaces in new ways. According to Onouha(2015):
… nowadays mapmakers have interests apart from navigation, location, and delineation. These maps aren’t examples of looking outwards — rather, they’re examinations of the inner lives of geographical spaces.
This statement points to a value in building a deep understanding and connection between people and physical places. In A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander also emphasizes the strong connection between the development of one’s sense of identity and their place. The need to strengthen those connections brings me to my central design question:
How can maps be visualized in a manner that facilitates a deep cognitive understanding of place and encourages interaction with and exploration of physical spaces?
