First Advisor

Seymour Adler

Date of Publication

1-1-2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Urban Studies

Department

Urban Studies

Language

English

Subjects

Mapping, GIS, Equity, Actor-network theory, Cartography -- Social aspects, Cartography -- Political aspects

DOI

10.15760/etd.298

Physical Description

1 online resource (viii, 330 p.), col. maps

Abstract

Maps have longed been recognized as instruments of power and persuasion. With the recent proliferation of maps in the media and on the Internet has come an increasing desire among groups advocating for environmental and social change to have access to maps (the product) and mapping (the process) to more effectively promote their agendas. However, this is not as simple as it seems. Far from being neutral conduits of "truth," maps are constructed by a myriad of social interactions among heterogeneous actors (human and technical) that left unacknowledged can lead to an untapped potential of the power of maps. Adopting actor-network theory's (ANT) theoretical framework that accepts nonhuman entities as actors in the social, and its methodological protocols, this study contributes to the needed empirical evidence relating to the ways in which maps and mapping behave and function in society, particularly in the grassroots advocacy context and neighborhood scale, through a case study of the products, and thereby the process, of the Coalition for a Livable Future?s (CLF) Regional Equity Atlas four-year endeavor. The purpose of this study is to account for and expose the complexity of relations among data, technology, people, and organizations that underlie it and the ways in which these relations affected the atlas itself. Four interrelated themes emerge from this study. The first relates to CLF's contribution to equity mapping discourse including its participatory approach to equity mapping, its definition of equity, and the subsequent impacts of both of these things on the mapping process. The second relates more specifically to the contributions of the embedded ideologies that are integral to the GIS software that was used and the roles that they played. The third theme is the importance of process in community-based mapping projects and the recognition that they are social processes in the comprehensive sense that ANT theorists advocate. The fourth theme relates to how maps work, specifically, maps as maps versus the idea of maps.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Comments

Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/7043

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