Geographies of decolonial creativity; maps, design, and reflections on research

This new blog series by UFS PhD candidate Cara Flores reflects on the potential of decolonial approaches in research, and also the, at times, difficulty of negotiating these approaches in academic spheres. From the perspective of a sometimes designer, and map-maker, this blog series reflects on what it means to enact decolonial thinking creatively through the lens of designing and making maps. It also follows Cara’s travels through the field and reflections throughout her research project “Cultivating Island Futures: Mapping Local Knowledge in Seas of Change.”

Cara Flores is a PhD researcher at the Urban Futures Studio. With a sociology and fine arts background, she has always been interested in working within the intersection of social science theories and creative thinking. Cara's research focused on Decolonizing Mapping Practices Towards Sustainable Development. The research project looks into applying a decolonial framework to mapping practices with the purpose of better addressing island communities unique sustainable challenges. This project focuses on small island environments and involves participatory Geographic Systems, as well as qualitative methods and creative processes to co-design visualizations of local place knowledge.