Mapping the Invisible. Creative Cartography as as a Tool for Representing the Changing Contemporary City.

After an overview concerning the various forms of city mapping, both in a historic light and in the formulation of Denis Wood’s Critical Cartography, this paper examines that polysemic form of representation of the city called “Creative Cartography”, which, starting from subjective maps (in the wake of the Kevin Lynch’s urban studies), investigates the relationship between the individual and the urban space, taking into account topics such as memory, affection, perceptions and relationships. The survey of a number of recent case studies (in magazines, exhibitions, nonfiction, literature, blogs, etc.) aims at demonstrating how Creative Cartography has undergone an increased diffusion in the last years even among the non-professionals. In its various articulations, combining advanced digital tools with freehand drawing, Creative Cartography relates the act of drawing the city to its role as an interpretative medium as well as a powerful agent for developing and supporting hypothesis and proactive designs related to the territory.