Laura GARCÍA, Departamento de Geografía, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Beyond the classic postulates of geography, though perfectly aligned with them, lies the scale of microgeographies, a tendency based more on qualitative than quantitative analysis that places equal emphasis on the need to establish new methodological proposals and to develop novel tools to formalize this, more humanist, perspective and imbue it with scientific rigor. The present communication focuses on these issues though a discussion more technical than theoretical in nature.
Within geography, the spatial discipline par excellence, where cartography is a fundamental tool for studies of phenomena and processes that may occur either synchronically or diachronically, social cartography has emerged as an instrument for constructing knowledge of territory from the perspective of actors. one that simultaneously activates processes of communication and of the production of knowledge that value the significant social representations and practices of territories to produce collective images that can be represented cartographically. But both aspects –the spatial and the cartographic– have undergone a metamorphosis in recent years due to technological advances that have come to mesh with the needs of the microgeographic approach.
Along the journey from SIG to TIG and, today, geotechnologies, certain tools have been democratized and become consolidated in society. As a result, concepts like Open data, Open source, and Big Data have come together to open a world of possibilities through distinct applications, all characterized by their strong attachment to social study. This article exemplifies this broad panorama based on a review of several case studies that deal with topics from didactics to natural and cultural patrimony.
Mots clés : microgeographies|places|geotechnologies|open data|open source
A104982A