Founded by Jordan Engel in 2014, Decolonial Atlas is working to undo settler colonialism, one map at a time.
Tag: cartography
Explore the Largest Known Early Map of the World, Assembled for the First Time
A 60 sheet manuscript world map made in 1587 by Urbano Monte has been acquired by the David Rumsey Map Center at Stanford Libraries, which scanned the sheets, then digitally stitched them together.
Using Google Street View Data to Track Urban Trees
MIT’s project Treepedia maps the protective green canopy of trees in cities around the world, and the places where this nature is missing.
The Octopus, a Motif of Evil in Historical Propaganda Maps
Since the 19th century, the motif of an octopus on propaganda maps has represented the inhuman spread of evil, its tentacles grasping for land and power.
Watch the British Library Digitize One of the World’s Largest Books
The 1660 Klencke Atlas is taller than most people, and now its rare maps are easily accessible online.
The New York Public Library Has a “Digital Time-Travel Service” for Its Historical Maps
The New York Public Library’s NYC Space/Time Directory launched a project that plots 5,000 digitized street maps across the five boroughs, organized by decade from 1850 to 1950.
An Atlas for the Mythical Places that Have Populated Our Maps
The Phantom Atlas chronicles centuries of fictional locations that were included on maps of the world.
CIA Declassifies Maps from 75 Years of Surveillance
To mark the 75th anniversary of its Cartography Center, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) shares decades of declassified maps.
An Incredible Map Collection Gets Its First Physical Home
Since the 1990s, collector David Rumsey has digitized and made freely available his thousands of historical maps; his site has long been one of the best resources for cartography.
Maps Made to Influence and Deceive
Some maps are not designed to chart geography, but to express a particular belief.
A Collection of Creative Cartographers’ Madcap Maps
Originally intended purely as tools for navigation, maps have long branched off from this practical function to become an unexpected medium for visual expression.
Painted Maps Jam-Packed with Data
Paula Scher, the first female principal of Pentagram and designer of identities for the Public Theater and Tiffany’s — not to mention hundreds of hit album covers — grew up surrounded by maps.