Designer Katja Ulbert traveled from Berlin, Germany, to “the jungle,” a migrant encampment in Calais, France, to map the constantly evolving landscape. In a makeshift library beneath a tin roof and behind a painted canvas reading “Jungle Books,” she worked with migrants to plot their paths to the camp with Post-it notes, pencils, and giant prints of countries and borders.
Maps provide the people who live in informal settlements, often for longer than they had envisioned, with tools to track down the resources they need, from doctors to Wi-Fi to mosques. And they enable humanitarian responders to provide recovery and relief.
There are a growing number of ways to apply cartography to humanitarian and development missions. While some organizations develop new technology and launch new platforms, others are going back to basics, using pencil and paper. Devex spoke with a range of experts who said the global development community can do more to leverage both high and low tech solutions to put more people and places on the map.
About the author
Catherine Cheneycatherinecheney
Catherine Cheney is the Senior Editor for Special Coverage at Devex. She leads the editorial vision of Devex’s news events and editorial coverage of key moments on the global development calendar. Catherine joined Devex as a reporter, focusing on technology and innovation in making progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Prior to joining Devex, Catherine earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University, and worked as a web producer for POLITICO, a reporter for World Politics Review, and special projects editor at NationSwell. She has reported domestically and internationally for outlets including The Atlantic and the Washington Post. Catherine also works for the Solutions Journalism Network, a non profit organization that supports journalists and news organizations to report on responses to problems.
