Emanuela Casti – författare

Reflexive Cartography addresses the adaptation of cartography, including its digital forms (GIS, WebGIS, PPGIS), to the changing needs of society, and outlines the experimental context aimed at mapping a topological space. Using rigorous scientific analysis based on statement consistency, relevance of the proposals, and model accessibility, it charts the transition from topographical maps created by state agencies to open mapping produced by citizens.

Adopting semiotic theory to uncover the complex communicative mechanisms of maps and to investigate their ability to produce their own messages and new perspectives, Reflexive Cartography outlines a shift in our way of conceptualizing maps: from a plastic metaphor of reality, as they are generally considered, to solid tools that play the role of agents, assisting citizens as they think and plan their own living place and make sense of the current world.

Mapping the Epidemic: A Systemic Geography of COVID-19 in Italy provides a theoretical-methodological framework based on space-time analysis to map and interpret the set of factors that could have contributed to the spread of COVID-19, as well as a reflexive cartographic mapping visualizing the virus's dynamics. After an introduction that constitutes the theoretical anchor of the work carried out both with respect to territorial analysis and the use of reflexive cartography, the book discusses the role played by reflexive cartography in research on the COVID-19 pandemic conducted by an Italian university working group dealing with reticularity and the territorial fragilities that have influenced the spread. The data, subjected to analysis, are translated into reflexive cartography as a tool for restitution and investigation of the territorial dynamics. Each chapter consists of detailed information in which the European context of data analysis is illustrated, to then investigate the Italian territory and focus on the case of Lombardy and, in particular, of Bergamo as the epicenter. The book addresses the theoretical and methodological approaches of mapping the epidemic in Italy and the importance of cartography in the outbreak response, as well as including data accounting for contributing factors such as atmospheric pollution and infection rate, population distribution and major mobility corridors, and measures adopted to contain the outbreak, by implementing mapping at the regional Lombard, national, and European levels.

Mapping the Epidemic: A Systemic Geography of COVID-19 in Italy uses an interdisciplinary approach that highlights the key role of geography and cartography in providing usable data and conclusions on the virus outbreak and will be valuable for researchers and professionals in the fields of geography, GIS, and spatial mapping, as well as statisticians working on mapping outbreaks and epidemiological scientists needing mapping data on the virus.