Parsons School of Design · Product Design · Winter 2020
The internet, like many technologies, is often claimed to possess the power to collapse time and space. As emphasis is placed on the capacity of communication networks to erase distance, the physicality of the internet itself tends to disappear from public view and public concern. At the same time, the internet and digital technologies have enabled expanded access to tools for seeing and comprehending the physical world, through web mapping tools and satellite imagery resources. This class will introduce students to code-based tools for creating web maps such as Javascript, Leaflet, D3, and Mapshaper. We will focus on visualizing data concerning physical infrastructures central to the internet. Discussion and reading will explore various ways that infrastructure occupies, transforms, and is transformed by its material environments. Coursework for this seminar will include programming exercises and projects. No prior coding experience is required.