Another Politics Is Possible

Neogeographies, Visual Spatial Tactics, and Political Formation

Bibliographic Data

ID14701101
AuthorsSarah Elwood (0000-0002-1155-3490, University of Washington, corresponding author), Katharyne Mitchell (0000-0001-9238-7318, University of Washington)
Year2013
Volume48
Issue4
Pages275-292
Publication date2013-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCartographica The International Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0317-7173 • E-ISSN: 1911-9925
PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3138/carto.48.4.1729
OpenAlexW2076531480
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited96

Neogeography – the use of interactive online mapping technologies, often by laypersons or grassroots groups – continues its rapid growth, as do debates about its implications for spatial data and map quality, public spatial literacy, and the digital divide. Ongoing efforts to understand whether and how neogeography might enable the participation, influence, and agency of less powerful social actors require greater attention to theorizing neogeography politics. Existing work, tacitly or explicitly, tends to theorize these politics in ways that align with Michel de Certeau's notion of “strategy” or its conceptual partner, “tactics.” We argue that a neogeography politics conceived as “strategy” has inherent limits and that the political significance of neogeography “tactics” is even more foundational than has been understood thus far. Recent work has shown neogeography to be a powerful site of political action or engagement, but our evidence suggests further that visual spatial tactics in neogeography are also key sites of political formation. Neogeography tactics are significant not just as a site of resistance or political action by less powerful actors but also as practices that contribute to the formation of political subjects, mobilized social groups, and shared knowledge. Recognizing neogeography as a site of political formation paves the way toward realizing its broader potential in the development and practice of a critical spatial citizenship. We develop these arguments from a three-year neogeography project conducted with young teens

Action (physics · Agency (philosophy · Epistemology · Grassroots · Political efficacy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Quality (philosophy · Social science · Sociology · Geographic Information Systems Studies · Geographies of human-animal interactions · Geography Education and Pedagogy · Law

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