Participatory Mapping, Empowerment and Augmented Personal Spaces

The notion of space, and the way we traditionally understand this concept, has been inextricably linked to the process of mapping. From the very beginnings of human civilization, people have created maps as a schematic way of depicting their surrounding environment. Indeed, researchers claim that mapping is an innate human tendency with both socio-cultural (myth-making) and technical (utilitarian) functions (Lydon, 2003). Indigenous people from all corners of the world have represented their physical environment in sand, on tree trunks, on animal hides, or cave walls, in various styles and with different degrees of schematic complexity.

But where does mapping fit in, when we talk about real, augmented and virtual spaces for learning? Can the mapping process – in both its geographical and symbolic or metaphysical dimensions – be meaningfully integrated into the comprehension of learning spaces? And how can the learning experience be enhanced by the visual representation of space – whether this space is physical, virtual, or even mental? Think, for instance, of the role of maps in the history of videogames, and how this evolution from the military map-based games of the Avalon Hill Company to the spatial playground of Dungeons and Dragons illuminated a crucial linkage between mapping, play and imagination. In the case of D&D, the player’s ability to actually create the map for gameplay was one of its principal attractions, and a vital reason explaining the enduring popularity of this game.

The ability to create your own map, instead of relying on pre-drawn formalized representations, is, in a sense, a way of taking ownership over a personal space, be it real or virtual. Furthermore, because of the political function of maps, being able to create your own map is also an empowering activity for the learner. In recent times, following the advent of colonialism, maps have taken on a political and ideological function, and have tended to represent the worldview and particular interests of dominant powers. Thus, beyond their function as a source of knowledge, maps have complex implications in regards to the empowerment – or lack thereof – of the communities that populate these spatial realms.

Acknowledging this potential for empowerment and educational enrichment, I have tried, in my own pedagogical endeavors, to use participatory mapping as a technique that encourages students to represent their physical and mental realities in a reflective and empowering manner. Participatory mapping, as a visual communication strategy, attempts to engage communities in the active generation of personalized maps, as a way to both harness the value of individual knowledge, and to concurrently empower community members by inviting them to take an active stake in the visual representation of their spatial environment. I have recently used participatory mapping at the RFK Community Schools here in Los Angeles, and the results have been extremely insightful. In this exercise, the students generated personal maps, where they represented “comfort spaces” as well as areas that are perceived dangerous or unwelcoming; this led to a powerful visual depiction of their own personal geographies, and the patterns of crime, as well as ethnic and racial prejudice, that limit their mobility within the larger urban space.

As a research method, participatory mapping is a valuable tool in eliciting rich descriptions of individual and social perceptions on a variety of topics and across a wide spectrum of cultural backgrounds. The resulting maps, coupled with a subsequent discussion of their personal relevance by the mapmakers themselves, allow for a nuanced process of description, elaboration and theorization, which often surpasses the modal affordances of purely textual methods. In addition, in view of its engaging and co-constructed nature, this is an inherently more ethical research strategy, and one that has the significant potential of stimulating empowerment and self-efficacy among the participants. From a practical standpoint, the process of mapmaking does not rely on formal literacy or linguistic proficiency, making it suitable for use in a variety of cross-cultural contexts, and in work with problematic or sensitive populations, especially children and youth. Especially in recent years, many of these initiatives have also complemented the pen-and-paper approach with digital mapping activities such as GIS or GPS integration, which provides a further point of engagement for digital learners, and an exciting step towards the integration of real, augmented and virtual spaces.