Why Draw a Map of Your Life in Quarantine
Whether you live in a big city, a spacious suburb or a rural area, your everyday world has likely shrunk significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most people no longer commute to work, go to school, or meet friends at their favorite bar or restaurant. Our lives are now centered in our homes and a few nearby places where we rely on for supplies – and perhaps the nearest park, your backyard, or wherever you can go outside to get some fresh air and exercise. The point is, your quarantined existence is probably much more geographically constrained than your daily life two months ago. It’s time to make a map.
About a month ago, CityLab asked its readers to make and then manually send maps of their lives during isolation from the coronavirus. Here is their initial invitation:
We invite readers to draw a map of their life, community, or the wider world as you experience it in the face of the coronavirus. Your map can be as simple or subjective as you like. You can show the main destinations, favorite neighbors, a new daily routine, people or restaurants you miss, a future city you hope to see, or anything else that is becoming important to you right now. It could even be a map of your inner life. For an extra challenge, try drawing from memory.
Don’t be alarmed: you don’t need cartographer training to make these maps. In fact, it would make a great family quarantine event and provide interesting insight into how your kids conceptualize their time at home. All you need is paper and something to write or draw on. If you really want to get creative, you can scoop up some markers or even paint. Be as simple or frilly as you like.
Not only does it give you something to do while you’re stuck at home, besides scrolling through the Netflix queue, it can also serve as the visual equivalent of your pandemic journal : a visual record of your actions, thoughts, and views of this very strange time. When you’re done with them, take a photo or scan the cards to make sure they don’t get lost in your next quarantine clearing frenzy and can safely take their place in your family’s history. (Imagine having something like this from family members who survived the Great Depression or World War II!) If you share them on social media, your friends are likely to get involved, too, and we’re all going to use these disconnected moments of connection. where we can get them right now.
If you need some inspiration, CityLab has posted some of the submissions received so far. If you want to submit your own, their portal is still open . Happy mapping!