DIY Cartography

In the spring of 2016 they led a cross-disciplinary graduate level research and mapping seminar titled DIY (Do It Yourself) Cartography in which students used techniques of mapping as a comparative analytic tool to uncover hidden meanings between data and reality.

Connected to an ongoing project in partnership with the Urban Design Center and the City of Raleigh (COR) Museum, the course curated diverse historical perspectives through the lenses of natural history, the social city, the physical city, economics, politics, arts and culture. Using GIS open source data, archival sources and primary data collection, course participants produced a series of maps which utilize diverse map structures and visualization software to investigate and reflect on the effect that the mapping process has on how data and narrative is understood.

Through intense observation and interaction with census data, the physical environment and the official and unofficial archival history of Raleigh, students engaged in a rich and triangulated approach to historical and social research in order to investigate how historical perspectives (or lack thereof) contribute to today’s rapid urban transformations and might be leveraged to inform future development.

This exhibit showcases the work of students from Allen and Queen's spring 2016 DIY Cartography seminar. Visit the iPearl Immersion Theater to view these pieces.