Maps mattered during the pandemic—not just data-driven maps that pointed us to spikes in new infections or hospitalizations. In 2020, Bloomberg CityLab asked readers to send in homemade maps of what their worlds look like after coronavirus. The hundreds of maps received were so many windows into the sprawling economic, environmental, and social sea changes that swept the world along with the virus. All together, they are a unique—and deeply personal—document of the pandemic and how it changed our daily lives. But why, and how? Laura's talk will expand on how these maps served as a powerful medium for making sense of a year of grief, tumult, and extended uncertainty.
The talk will take place Friday, May 21, 2021 on Zoom and follows the schedule below:
2:45pm PDT: Zoom opens
3:00pm PDT: Talk by Laura Bliss, followed by Q&A.
Register here: https://stanford.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_C0wCGMaIRXm9l-c4YZBMkw
Laura Bliss is a journalist at Bloomberg CityLab, where she reports on urban policy and politics and authors the biweekly newsletter MapLab, which examines how cartography and geography intersect with the news and daily life. She is the editor of the forthcoming book The Quarantine Atlas, a compendium of maps made by people all over the world during COVID-19 and accompanying essays from beloved authors. Her articles and essays have also been published in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Bloomberg Businessweek, Los Angeles magazine, Sierra, Wildsam’s guide to California and many other publications. She lives in San Francisco and hails from Los Angeles, where in a previous career she led tours and programs at the L.A. County Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits.
This talk is hosted by the David Rumsey Map Center.