Abstract
“The history of cartography has been a history of coding the enemy, making a "them" and "us" that can be defended with a clear border. It has been, above all, a history of pushing "them" out of territory that is considered ours--denying their existence, deleting their maps, drawing lines in the sand.” (Piper, 2002) In digital cartography, there are growing tensions between those who map, and those who resist or attempt to redefine mapping projects. The dominant history written by the official spatial representations of the world cannot absolutely suppress alternative forms of territoriality, especially with the current technological developments in information technologies allowing the creation, storage, and mass distribution of alternative archiving practices.
The current fragmentation of Palestinian space and population urgently calls for a reunification of the cartographic archive and the visualization of a Palestinian spatial narrative. Atlas of Palestine 2.0 is a collaborative project towards constructing an online participatory data-base of spatial data on Palestinian space; a necessary platform for the creation of a collectively archived spatial narrative of the history, current struggles, and future aspirations of the Palestinian people. Through this project, we argue that a democratic access to spatial data on Palestine can expand and push forward the popular imagination of alternative spatial organization- not only by providing the data necessary, but also the platform enabling to communicate it globally. Through digitizing historical maps, cooperating with organizations and people undertaking mapping projects, and opening the platform for planners and visual artists to share their utopian visions, this aggregation will culminate in a public spatial data-base on Palestinian space (including pre-1948 Palestine, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, and Palestinian refugee camps across the Middle East).
Discipline
Architecture & Urban Planning
Geographic Area
Sub Area
Middle East/Near East Studies