Reclaiming data science for just geographies: A critical approach

The argument

What kinds of worlds are we building with our maps and data? Whose realities do they centre, and whose do they render invisible? The paper authored by Laura van Geene, Juliana Goncalves, Caitlin Robinson and Trivik Verma takes a critical look at the conventions of data science as applied to urban and geographic research, examining the assumptions, omissions and power dynamics encoded into standard methodologies. The paper argues for a more reflexive, justice-oriented approach to data science, one that treats methodology not as neutral technique but as a site of political and ethical responsibility.

The visual narrative

The visual work for the paper began with foundational questions about orientation and framing: How do we preface data? What do we choose to highlight, and what do we leave out? I illustrated a series of technical mapping systems and broke it down further to make visible who and what fall through the cracks. The anchor of the narrative is that cartographic and map-making tools obscure the choices that shape how knowledge about cities and territories are produced, and who it ultimately serves. Using projections and extrusions common in maps, I outlined the process of what a decolonial approach to planning would like like using the example of a map.