Tactical cartography, as a power dynamic-based concept, is an instrument for representing and wielding "spatial data". It allows oppressed people to take control and externalize their own priorities, rather than the priorities of those in power. It’s a demand for respect. I love/am intrigued by the idea of creating our own tools for expression—especially one as unexpected as cartography—in a political context, but it's also interesting how cartography can be used in an emotional context as well. In many ways, the two are intertwined, as with the citizens of Boston's Chinatown. 

I took a screenshot of part of my old hometown in Vermont, and edited out all of the typical Google Maps clutter—except for the Google logo, because I thought it was funny. I've spent a lot of time looking at this town on Google Maps, and I know that this doesn't really do it justice. I chose this screenshot for precisely that reason, so I could take an average snapshot of an average town and elucidate all the supposedly minor components that make it emotionally significant to me. The important points become more clustered as they near my best friend's house, which (believe it or not) is not a coincidence.