Geographies of Digital Exclusion: Data and Inequality

by Mark Graham, Martin Dittus

Today's urban environments are layered with data and algorithms that fundamentally shape how we perceive and move through space. But are our digitally dense environments continuing to amplify inequalities rather than alleviate them? This book looks at the key contours of information inequality, and who, what and where gets left out. Platforms like Google Maps and Wikipedia have become important gateways to understanding the world, and yet they are characterized by significant gaps and biases, often driven by processes of exclusion. As a result, their digital augmentations tend to be refractions rather than they highlight only some facets of the world at the expense of others. This doesn't mean that more equitable futures aren't possible. By outlining the mechanisms through which our digital and material worlds intersect, the authors conclude with a roadmap for what alternative digital geographies might look like.

Genres: Urban Planning, Nonfiction, Technology

208 pages, Paperback

Published January 20, 2022

About the author

See:

http://www.bumblebeehouseink.blogspot...

and

http://www.authorsden.com/markgraham1

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I took a year break 30 pages from the end oops

I find it frustrating that only google maps and wikipedia are used as case studies
But in turn, by using only these two, they're able to conduct really detailed "experiments" and provide numerous pertinent graphs

I learned a lot when it comes to geography as a discipline
I also found the sections on google maps even more interesting -- seeing the agency and power maps hold into and over our lives and communities

This book stands well within a part of the radical geographies series and I'm looking forward to perusing the rest of the series

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and enjoyable (if worrying) exploration of digital space. It might not necessarily be a surprise that the Global North seems to participate far more in the production and curration of digital information, but the research is very thorough, the writing is accessible, and it helped me to understand why this is and the suggestions for how to alter this are thought-provoking.

[kiubert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interrumpí la lectura porque lo tenía en el compu de mi ex trabajo 🥲
Una obra fundamental para entender las desigualdades en el ámbito digital, en este caso, en la geografía. Toman como caso de estudio Google Maps (y otras plataformas abiertas como open map) y Wikipedia. Se enlaza bien con la obra de Constanza-Chock sobre el diseño, como los mismos autores señalan.