Counter-GIS Experiments in Distance Interpolation with the Relational Reprojection Platform

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss the cartographic genealogy and prospective uses of the Relational Reprojection Platform (RRP), an interactive tool that we built to create custom azimuthal reprojections of spatial datasets with non-linear distance transformations. Building on prior examples of analytically rescaled azimuthal projections in the history of cartography and quantitative geography (from mid-twentieth-century efforts by Torsten Hägerstrand, Waldo Tobler, and William Bunge to more recent digital experiments), we show how our tool brings what were formerly custom artisanal projects into the reach of non-specialist cartographers. In order to illustrate the utility of this method, we highlight recent use cases for the RRP across multiple disciplines and subject areas. These use cases show the myriad ways in which a counter-GIS tool can enable new kinds of cartographic thinking, from visualizing relational spaces within a single context to other kinds of provocation, like presenting changes over time and bringing different relational spaces into dialogue with each other. We conclude with a rallying cry to digital geographers to create more experimental tools to challenge our established notions of visual spatial vernacular while still remaining committed to rigorous, reproducible data analysis.