Free The Map

In his work, Free the Map, Professor Henk van Houtum argues for a new cartography, emphasizing that maps are visual narratives that influence our perception of the world. He contends that the standard world map, which uses the 16th-century Mercator projection, tells only one story: that of the nation-state. This dominant map depicts the world as a collection of sealed national containers with continuous borderlines, and, tellingly, often visualizes migration as threatening invasion arrows, reflecting a deeply state-centric view.

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