Introducing GIS

The Digital Revolution and GIS

The years since the late 19th century further transformed cartography. Aerial photography and satellite imagery made it possible to document large swaths of land from above. Later on, the introduction of computers enabled the storage, analysis, and visualization of vast amounts of geographical data, ultimately leading to the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

GIS represented a shift in mapmaking. No longer confined to static, two-dimensional representations, cartographers could now create dynamic, multi-layered maps that could be updated in real-time. The availability of web-based platforms further democratized the practice, providing a way for many to map the world around them.

Modern Cartography and GIS

As cartography transitioned from paper to pixels, new ethical considerations emerged. GIS made it possible to manipulate and analyze data, raising questions about the representation of reality, the potential for bias, and the privacy of individuals represented in geospatial data.

Today's cartographers and GIS specialists face ethical dilemmas that go beyond the traditional concerns of accuracy and representation. The digital nature of GIS allows for the collection, analysis, and distribution of vast amounts of spatial data. This raises questions about privacy, especially when tracking movements or behaviors. Additionally, this data, when used and replicated in mass, can result in individuals being put in danger due to incorrect information.

Moreover, the potential for data manipulation or bias in GIS can significantly impact decision-making processes in environmental and climate justice including placing landfills in areas where the most vulnerable live.

Mark Monmier states in How to Lie with Maps, "[...] that maps have become remarkably fast in both their creation and dissemination, and so strikingly that twenty-first-century electronic maps collectively merit the label fast maps, mostly because no other general term adequately accounts for both their velocity and their diversity." These ‘fast maps’, share the same set of challenges around accuracy and bias already seen in paper maps. However, because maps are now easier to make, these issues are easier to replicate.

Even more importantly, Clancy Wilmott states that GIS simplifies the world to points lines and polygons focusing more "on what space is rather than what it does."