Drawing Routes of Mental Maps

For the exhibition Maps of Amsterdam 1866-2000 at the Amsterdam City Archive, Waag Society and Esther Polak set up the Amsterdam RealTime project. Every inhabitant of Amsterdam has an invisble map of the city in his head. The way he moves about the city and the choices made in this process are determined by this mental map. Amsterdam RealTime attempted to visualize these mental maps through examining the mobile behaviour of the city’s users.

During two months (3 Oct to 1 Dec 2002) all of Amsterdam’s residents were invited to be equipped with a tracer-unit. This is a portable device developed by Waag Society which is equipped with GPS: Global Positioning System. Using satellite data the tracer calculates its geographical position. The tracers’ data are sent in realtime to a central point. By visualizing this data against a black background traces, lines, appear. From these lines a (partial) map of Amsterdam constructs itself. This map does not register streets or blocks of houses, but consists of the sheer movements of real people.

When the different types of users draw their lines, it becomes clear to the viewer just how individual the map of Amsterdam can be. A cyclist will produce completely different favourite routes than someone driving a car. The means of transport, the location of home, work or other activities together with the mental map of the particular person determine the traces he leaves. This way an everchanging, very recent, and very subjective map of Amsterdam will come about. Participants received a print of their personal routes through the city, their diary in traces. [Related]