A map is a way of understanding a space: maps of countries, cities, towns, transport systems, shopping centres, and galaxies.  We use a map to gain information.  Maps are mans projections onto a landscape. Infinite numbers of maps exist. If I asked two people in the same location to recommend a nice cafe and draw a map of how to navigate through the city to it, not only may the end location be different but the symbols used, the format, the route and the landmarks, could all differ. The two maps would be formed by the individuals’ different experiences and relationship to their surrounding space.

The notion of place is complex, my impressions of the North of England and where I live could be very different from my neighbours, and different again from yours. Laura and Bryan created an interface in the form of a website which enabled multiple public authoring of a place by inviting suggestions of interesting and unique places to visit. The resulting map of the North of England which was created (the website and content) is defined by the people who have constructed it. With different recommendations, a different journey or map may have been produced, and a different representation of the north communicated. How objects, places, stories, videos, images etc are juxtaposed or clustered can change the way we read them.