Inspired by the work of Stephen Walter in his collection of hand drawn maps I have put forward a proposal to conduct a mental mapping exercise, creating a hand drawn map of London by the students and staff at UCL. Though I foresee a number of potential challenges I believe the potential outcome could be hugely impressive. I have included below the project proposal and would be grateful for any insight that may be offered.
Introduction:
Following the work of Stephen Walter who produced the famous London Island map, I would like to propose a similar project which was built upon the knowledge held within UCL. The foundation, being an outline of Greater London and the content being provided on a voluntary basis by members of the university. The work, then being attributed towards those who contributed.
Feasibility/Requirements:
Due to the nature of the project the map canvas will need an area of high footfall with reasonably easy access. The project would be run over 7 days allowing access to the majority of interested parties. In addition, to document the production of the map, a webcam would be used to record the development of the map at set time intervals (5 to 10 minutes). In order to promote participation a completion element could be included.
Objectives/desired result:
The goal over the week period would be to create a fairly comprehensive map of London combining the knowledge of many participants. The end product would be a digital reproduction which could be displayed in a web format allowing users to explore the map through panning and zooming. In addition the time-lapse data collected would provide insight into how people transfer mental knowledge from mind to paper. For example, do major networks i.e rivers and roads develop first and then the map is filled in around these?
Links:
http://www.stephenwalter.co.uk/drawings/drawa1.php
