Lived and perceived space during lock-down in a sensitive map approach

Abstract. The first lock-down in France due to the Covid-19 pandemic happened during spring 2020. It meant restrictions for everyone regarding reachable space and possible time length outside home. The seminar of sensitive mapping taking place in École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) went online and proposed an exercise to investigate the consequences of these statutory restrictions on individual lived and perceived space. The defined protocol of the exercise was based on the framework of the sensitive map approach. This approach adapts the principles of conventional cartography so that to favour personal information selection and design. Each participant of the seminar had the task to map their space. Displayed information should concern meaningful elements from their spatial environment. Other targeted information was sensitive information including emotions, feelings, and opinions as well as perceived elements from the five senses. The resulted map corpus offers diverse mapping creations. Each map contains several graphic items. Items are mainly cartographical displays enriched with non-cartographical drawings, pictures, photos, records, charts. Techniques were mixed: pen, fabrics, computer-based. The themes of displayed elements are about spatially-stable features like the dwelling, buildings remained open, green spaces, and about ephemeral and sensitive information like social interactions, people, perceived sounds, smells and feelings about the lock-down situation and the pandemic. Some maps have used or were inspired by topographic maps. Though in most maps, distances and topology are subjective. Sensitive mapping appeared as an interesting approach to collect individual testimonies and might be complementary to statistical studies.