projection as politics
85° 24’ 37” W
NAD 1983 StatePlane Michigan Central FIPS 2112
Maps have never been neutral tools. The Mercator projection famously inflated northern and southern landmasses while compressing the equatorial belt, rendering colonized countries visually smaller and politically diminished. Greenland appeared the size of Africa, despite being fourteen times smaller; visual distortion reinforced geopolitical hierarchies.
Every projection is a compromise. The Gall–Peters preserves relative land area but elongates continents; the Mollweide balances area with a pleasing oval form yet distorts shapes; Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion interrupts continuity to minimize distortion but sacrifices intuitive geography. Each is a negotiation among land area, proportion, and the perceived distances between places.
At the city scale, projection choice becomes even more consequential. Chicago aligns best with Illinois State Plane East; switching to Illinois West, Michigan South, or Indiana West introduces small but measurable shifts. Apply global projections like Mercator or Cylindrical Equidistant, and distortions become significant, undermining precision mapping.