LAB 3 - My Maps: My European Tour

View Europe in a larger map

Neogeography is a relatively new phenomenon that has had the effect of revolutionizing the field of geography. It has put the power of map-making into the hands of untrained individuals. This change has brought both expected and unseen consequences. Although very advantageous, neogeography also has some negative attributes that should be acknowledged in order to maintain the accountability of geography as a whole. Neogeography has generated a new found interest in geography as people are able to create and interact with their own maps. In some ways, it has made every person a geographer. This interest has benefited the field for the importance of map-making has begun to be more widely recognized outside of the scientific community. Maps are a window to the world that we are too close to see for ourselves. Without maps, people would never be able to connect their mental maps with the actual layout of the planet. Maps can be extremely informative and are therefore very valuable. This widening of scope has allowed the field to experience a boom in interest allowing new facets of exploration, such as Geographic Information Systems, to take hold and become official segments of geography as a science. Neogeography has contributed greatly to the understanding of the value and importance of map making.

Despite this new-found respect for maps and their makers, it has also bred a new kind of map that threatens the validity of the maps created by professionals. As peopled are given the opportunity to create maps for themselves, some have begun to abuse this power, knowingly and unknowingly, to create maps that are not accurate. These maps undermine the field of geography by providing false or inaccurate information to people seeking to learn things from looking at a map created for the purpose of educating individuals about the world around them. As a consequence, the source of maps has become an integral piece of information when using a map in order to avoid using inaccurate maps made by inexperienced people. This may become more of a problem in the future as maps made by people other than professionals begin to appear more convincing.

Regardless of this setback in the field of neogeography, I believe that this new phenomenon will be beneficial overall. Ignorance is the enemy of education because you can't learn if you're unaware of what you don't know. Without acknowledging what we want to learn about the world, we will not be able to educate ourselves and others. Neogeography enables people formerly without access to these resources the ability to create and interact with maps. The interest generated from this experience has transformed, and will continue to transform, the field of geography opening the eyes of people as they are exposed to neogeography.