Radical Cartography: What Maps Tell Us about Who We Are

Maps are everywhere. They can change how cities are designed and how rivers flow, how wars are fought and how land claims are settled, how children learn about race and how colonialism becomes a habit of mind. Maps don’t just show us information – they help construct our world, making sense of our society, our environment, and even ourselves. But the new ease and speed of mapping today can lead to the same results as ever: over-simplified maps being used as tools of control. Cartographer and historian William Rankin argues that it’s time to reimagine what a map can be and how it can be used. Maps are not neutral. They are innately political, defining how the world is divided, what becomes visible and what stays hidden, and whose voices are heard. Brimming with vibrant, radical maps created by Rankin and by other cutting-edge mapmakers, Radical Cartography challenges the map as a tool of the status quo. Changing our maps can change the questions we ask, the answers we accept – and the planet we build.