Skip to main content

Distributed for UCL Press

Mapping Society

The Spatial Dimensions of Social Cartography

Distributed for UCL Press

Mapping Society

The Spatial Dimensions of Social Cartography

From a rare map of yellow fever in eighteenth-century New York to Charles Booth’s famous maps of poverty in nineteenth-century London, an Italian racial zoning map of early twentieth-century Asmara, and a map of wealth disparities in the banlieues of twenty-first-century Paris, Mapping Society traces the evolution of social cartography over the past two centuries. In this richly illustrated book, Laura Vaughan examines maps of ethnic or religious difference, poverty, and health inequalities, demonstrating how they not only serve as historical records of social enquiry but also constitute inscriptions of social patterns that have been etched deeply on the surface of cities. The book covers themes such as the use of visual rhetoric to change public opinion, the evolution of sociology as an academic practice, changing attitudes to physical disorder, and the complexity of segregation as an urban phenomenon. While the focus is on historical maps, the narrative carries the discussion of the spatial dimensions of social cartography forward to the present day, showing how disciplines such as public health, criminology, and urban planning chart spatial data in their current practice.
 

300 pages | 6.14 x 9.21 | © 2018

Free digital open access editions are available to download from UCL Press.

Social Work


UCL Press image

View all books from UCL Press

Reviews

"[Vaughan's] careful reading of the maps and their spatial dimensions provides new insights into the historical record."

Imago Mundi

Table of Contents

"1. Mapping the spatial logic of society
2. Disease, health and housing
3. Charles Booth and the mapping of poverty
4. Poverty mapping after Charles Booth
5. Nationalities, race and religion
6. Crime and disorder
7. Conclusions
Appendix: The spatial syntax of society "

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press