Why maps are made

Cars have sat nav systems, mobile phones use GPS: maps are important in everyday life whether captured by aerial photography, satellite imagery or simply drawn. This free course, Why maps are made, looks at how we read and evaluate the information in maps and assesses the values embedded within them. From mental maps to public transport and street maps: how do they affect your life?

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Reading maps
• 1 Reading maps
• 1.1 What makes a map?
• 2 Maps as everyday experience
• 2 Maps as everyday experience
• 2.1 How do we use maps?
• 2.2 Mental maps
• 3 Maps as knowledge
• 3 Maps as knowledge
• 3.1 Maps as history
• 3.2 Maps and the circuit of knowledge
• 3.3 Maps and the modern world
• 3.3.1 Mapmaking for the twenty-first century
• 4 Reading maps
• 4 Reading maps
• 4.1 Understanding the relationship between data and space
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements