Mapping in the Modern World MENTAL MAPS AND MAPPING THE MIND Enzo George Crabtree Publishing Company www crabtreebooks com
MENTAL SPACES Making any map depends on choices The choices a cartographer makes often depend on their personal view of their homes communities and the world Most of the choices a cartographer makes depend on what he or she intends a map to be used for But some choices also reflect the personality of the mapmaker Everyone sees the world around them in a different way depending on their experiences They know some neighborhoods better than others and are more interested in some locations and landmarks than others For young people places such as their homes their school or the football stadium might play a much larger role in their lives than locations such as office buildings or landfill sites Car drivers might not be aware of or interested in walking routes This map of a Shaker village in New Hampshire was drawn in 1849 It shows the buildings in the simple style familiar to the Shakers a small Christian group that chose to live separate from the outside world 4
A Child’s-eye View When schoolchildren mapped their neighborhood of Karachi the capital of Sindh province in Pakistan they included playgrounds that most adults would not notice They showed the places where they play soccer and cricket sometimes in spaces between buildings as well as cafes and places to fly kites They included the most brightly colored buildings The result is a map that shows how children see Karachi which is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world The map seems quite playful It gives a glimpse into how children can find public spaces to use and repurpose for play and recreation A map of Lyari a neigborhood of Karachi in Pakistan drawn by schoolchildren in the town It looks very different than an official map of the same neighborhood would look 5
