Mappenstance.

Oh, no! It is starting to creep in, get the towels! These are just some of the statements I heard from family as floodwaters began to rise rapidly around my home. If you ask anyone I say I am a proud Houstonian and resident of Harris County, however, my hometown has had its fair share of flooding disasters in recent years. So, it is safe to say flooding is in every Houstonian’s DNA. The city flaunts itself as a cosmopolitan city, which simply means the city is very diverse. Following the landfall of Hurricane Harvey, there was a lot of questions that needed to be answered regarding the areas within Harris County and the city of Houston that were more prone to flooding. Questions regarding the environment and climate change as well as urbanization and the imminent threat of other hurricanes forming and hitting the Gulf Coast also began to rise. The Kinder Institute, a think-and-do tank at Rice University whose primary focus is tackling urban issues in Houston and other cities, partnered with many local officials to answer some of these questions. Scientists, meteorologists, and many federal workers began to work on the collection of data to see where most the issues regarding the flood prone areas along waterways and tributaries across the Houston metropolitan area lied.

For starters this map shows a wide range of tributaries and rivers that traverse Harris County but lacks labeling. One of the main things you see from the map is the legend in which there is a display of the racial diversity across the different neighborhoods that encompass the county. The darker the shade, the more diverse a neighborhood is, meaning there are more demographics and ethnic groups in these neighborhoods. On the other hand, the lighter the color, the less diverse the neighborhood is, meaning there are populations that are predominantly white. One important purpose of the map is to show the flooding effect across Harris County however the map lacks the labeling of bayous, rivers, and neighborhoods. The range of flooding is not implicitly pictured, thus leading to some confusion at first glance. Fortunately, the map does show the cities within the county such as Houston, Sugarland, Missouri City, Pearland, Pasadena, and Baytown. The labeling of these cities is important because it can help further research and locate the effects of flooding in the county based on a particular city’s diversity index.

The City of Pearland in Pasadena is known for their large Latinx population, while the outskirts of the Sugarland and Missouri City area outside Harris County are known to be predominantly White.  The index of a more homogeneous neighborhood, where most of the population is within the same ethnic and demographic group, shows that they were more likely to see less effects of catastrophic flooding than those who were more of a heterogenous neighborhood. The omission of the names of certain neighborhoods across the county, the labeling of the flooding data, and the labeling of rivers, lakes, and streams can highly affect the data and the readers perspective. This can give a completely different view of what the data was meant to show: more diverse neighborhoods had a higher effect of flooding than those of less diversity.

Racial diversity ties in with the infrastructure that is available for that neighborhood. These neighborhoods that are more diverse meaning they encompass minority populations are less likely to receive large amounts of funding from the city and the county. This is the opposite when it comes to neighborhoods that are predominantly white and less diverse who tend to receive the most of the amount of funding from the city’s coffers.

Additionally, one of the main sources of flooding in the city of Houston has to do with street flooding. The county’s infrastructure is built so that highways, roads, and boulevards flood as a safety mechanism to prevent properties from flooding. However, the sewerage system in less diverse and predominantly white neighborhoods are more maintained than those of more diverse minority neighborhoods.

This map created by the Kinder Institute shows that areas with less diversity have a clear advantage to see less flooding than those who live in neighborhoods with a more diverse, minority populations. In line with one of our readings, the effect of silence on a map can be great. Harley emphasizes the power of silence and how the choice in how you display data on a map can change the overall depiction of a map.  Leaving out the names of these well-known Houston neighborhoods, flooding data, and names of tributaries just gives a consensus of the diversity of the county and flooding in the map but does not show that the more affluent, less diverse, and predominantly white neighborhoods fared a lot better than those neighborhoods with minority, more diverse and less affluent neighborhoods.

Finally, cartography and what is displayed on a map can have drastic effects on a reader’s perspective. Especially when it comes to the display of data from a devastating storm that question the effects of climate change, increased urbanization, and lack of upgraded infrastructure within a city. This just shows the power that a map can hold over its readers. This map was chosen because it displays a looming crisis in climate change and the inequities of city infrastructure and how the research and data play a major role in the perception of how natural disasters truly effect the people. So yes, this topic hits close to home, literally, but if you’ve seen your fair share of flash flooding events occur in front of your eyes, you would be just as critical of any irregularities.

Works Cited

Chakraborty, Jayajit, et al. “Exploring the Environmental Justice Implications of Hurricane Harvey Flooding in Greater Houston, Texas.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 109, no. 2, Feb. 2019, pp. 244–250. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304846.

Lee, Katherine D., et al. “A Once-in-One-Hundred-Year Event? A Survey Assessing Deviation between Perceived and Actual Understanding of Flood Risk Terminology.” Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 277, Jan. 2021, p. N.PAG. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111400.

Lieberknecht, Katherine, et al. “Hurricane Harvey: Equal Opportunity Storm or Disparate Disaster?” Local Environment, vol. 26, no. 2, Feb. 2021, pp. 216–238. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/13549839.2021.1886063.

Kinder Institute. “Mapping Tool Helps Neighborhoods Better Understand Harvey, Houston.” The tool from the Kinder Institute brings together a wide range of datasets, including recent flood data. Houston, 3 September 2017.

1941 was a year of global uncertainty. By August, German forces had conquered nearly all of continental Europe, and Nazi expansion was an increasingly menacing reality. While many feared that the end of democracy was imminent, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill had a more optimistic idea of what a post-war world would look like. The Atlantic Charter, located at the top of the Time and Tide map, is a statement composed of eight clauses detailing the United States and Great Britain’s ideal plan for global society after World War II. The text, signed by each country’s respective leaders, focuses on peacekeeping goals such as freedom of the seas, self-determination, and disarmament. 

The main focus of this map is the fourth point of the Atlantic Charter, which demands equal access for all countries to markets and “to the raw materials of the world which are needed for their economic prosperity.” The plane is littered with postings representing natural resources which are explained by the key at the bottom right of the map. Unsurprisingly, among these resources are British and American favorites such as tea, precious stones, and sugar, as well as vital war materials like petroleum and iron. It is interesting that the creator, Macdonald Gill chose to bring the most attention to natural resources, since most of the Atlantic Charter is about territory, not the economy. In fact, to make room for all of the exports offered around the world, labels of certain cities, countries, and islands are represented on banners adjacent to their respective territories instead of on the land itself. As someone who started his career as an artist and focused on calligraphy and mural painting, it is important to recognize that Gill may have been biased to focus more heavily on artistic elements rather than cartographic accuracy.

It seems as though every blank space on this map is filled with something, whether it be anti-war quotes from ancient and modern philosophers, shipping trade routes, or stereotypical drawings of the people who live in different regions of the world. The aforementioned details give the map and the alliance which it represents a sense of credibility, since it seems to be supported by quotes from some of the most notable thinkers in history. Additionally, the content of the quotes and their heavy focus on nonviolence implies that the United States-Great Britain post-war plan will inevitably lead to world peace. It is important to notice that the locations of natural resources are illustrated in great detail, but that the drawings of the people who live in the places containing them are depicted as caricatures, such as the Saudi Arabian man with a camel or the white South African boer. As we’ve learned since the beginning of the semester, a map’s meaning is heavily influenced by the ideals of its creator, and it is clear that Gill placed a high value on each country’s profitability rather than accurately representing its inhabitants.

The bright yellow sun at the top of the map may suggest that this map and its goals are entirely benevolent, but it’s important to acknowledge the underlying biases hidden within the colorful iconography. In an era when most maps aimed to present themselves as scientific, the choice to illustrate the Atlantic Charter in an older, stylistic way with themes of hope and happiness scattered throughout is clearly a strategic rhetorical move to garner support for the alliance. It also serves as a reminder that both countries had been major world powers since very early practices of modern cartography and implies that they will continue to be global leaders in an idyllic post-war era. The idea of free access to world resources definitely has its benefits, but for countries like the US and Great Britain with vast territorial possessions and more technologically advanced extraction methods, it would be much easier to take full advantage of said resources. Additionally, viewing places in the world as economic opportunities rather than focusing on culture and national identities is problematic because it blithely reduces a nation to its potential aggregate output.

The Time and Tide Map of the Atlantic Charter has many challenges, but that is exactly why I chose it as map of the week. It perfectly depicts the rhetorical nature of maps because its very existence is an argument for capitalism, democracy, and globalization in a post-war society. As we’ve discussed since our first reading, maps are not an objective interpretation of space, and this one is no exception. This map is a promise of continuation of life as it was experienced at the time, and holds an expectation of strong alliance between the two countries in the future.