—Radical Cartography
Visualizing and mapping space as a means of bringing social issues to the forefront.
The
Hudson River Watershed
The Hudson River is known to be one of the biggest Superfund sites in the US. Between the 1940s and 1980s, a company called General Electric is estimated to have dumped around 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) into the Hudson River.
In 2009 GE finally began the cleanup process and picking up the PCBs from the bottom of the River. In 2020, the process stopped in a Hudson River neighborhood named Troy.
For years, this contamination has affected different communities and raised health issues for many people across the watershed. This map is a collage of news articles, artworks, and other printed material on cardboard. The map sheds light on the issues that were raised by activists and others in the community. It also portrays some of the history of the river itself, and the history of the first settlers.
The Poop House
This is a map of the sewage crisis in Mount Vernon, New York. Waste water has been a recurring problem for the residents in the area, and according to an article by The Guardian, this situaltion is not shocking, considering Mount Vernon is a majority-black town.
The map is called “Poop House” as a reference to Linda McNeil, who is mentioned in the article above, and her grandson. He has, on many occasions, called Linda’s house “The Poop House” because of the constant fludding of sewage and the permanent smell.
