Critical Tourist Map of NYC: Hidden Stories, Honest Maps
Urban History Lab Final Project — Parsons School of Design, The New School
Fall 2023The assignment was an open-ended call to revisit some of the most personally impactful concepts, theories, and methods of urban research we’d discussed over the course of Urban History Lab, one of my Masters program’s first semester required classes.
Inspired by the methodology of counter/critical cartography, my partner Avery and I sought to create a critical cartography of NYC in the form of a tourist map. The concept was to identify key tourist locations, particularly ones we had talked about in class — through critical theoretical and historical lenses, going beyond what might be engraved on plaques or espoused on promotional websites — and display this critical context and analysis where an otherwise glamorized version of history would be.
The Concept Development:
Avery and I viewed this map as a protoype, one that we could eventually improve and expand upon with more time. The creation process involved choosing the notable sites for the map, designing the map and the icons for the map, and writing the blurb for each site, applying concepts and theory from course readings in each blurb.
The Inspiration:
Aside from the practice of counter/critical cartography in general, we were particularly inspired by Norwegian activist/artist Markus Moestue‘s “Critical Tourist Map of Oslo.” Moestue’s map aims to show “the worst, most shameful parts of the Norwegian capital,” perhaps directing tourists to places they wouldn’t otherwise go, or to locations that wouldn’t be included on a typical tourist map. We wanted to take a slightly different approach, however, sticking to using locations one would expect to see on a typical NYC tourist map, but contextualizing them among their historical narratives that typically get obscured by powerful institutions to maintain a “nicer” public facing image of each site. Our argument was that these obscured narratives are just as, if not more, important to the history of the city than the stoires we’re all used to hearing, and it is the result of an intentional, concerted effort by powerful forces (forces with vested interests in keeping these histories under the radar) that these stories often remain hidden unless you meaningfully search for them.
Project Duration: ~2 weeks
Tools: Adobe Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop
Developed in Collaboration with Avery Crower
Course Instructor: Andy Battle