Affective Geographies: Toward Richer Cartographic Semantics for the Geospatial Web

Due to the increasing sophistication in web technologies, maps can easily be created, modified, and shared. This possibility has popularized the power of maps by enabling people to add and share cartographic content, giving rise to the geospatial web. People are increasingly using web maps to connect with each other and with the urban and natural environment in ways no one had predicted. As a result, web maps are growing into a venue in which knowledge and meanings can be traced and visualized. However, the cartographic semantics of current web mapping services are not designed to elicit and visualize what we call affective meaning. Contributing a new perspective for the geospatial web, the authors argue for affective geographies capable of allowing richer and multiple readings of the same territory. This paper illustrates the cartographic semantics developed by the authors and discusses it through a case study in natural heritage interpretation.