Co-Lab is a collaborative faculty initiative in the College of Design @ NC State University that uses mapping as a critical and participatory research tool. Co-Lab’s current publications explore both the theory and application of mapping as a critical research tool, participatory mapping as a dialectical engagement device, and the value of mapping and visualization in fields outside of design, architecture and urban planning. Embedded in this initiative is a new theory of critical placemaking that builds upon the rich heritage of participatory design, placemaking and critical cartography. The value of placemaking underpins a perspective that promotes citizen/community agency and dialectical engagement in design decisions.
Our studios and seminars use techniques of mapping—analyzing and making meaning of raw data—as a comparative analytic tool and as a way to uncover hidden meanings between data and reality.
We use critical cartography and participatory mapping to engage communities in dialogue and discourse about the past, present and future of the build environment.
Through writing we discuss the many ways that mapping and visualization enhance critical research, while also acting as rhetorical devices that shape the way that we understand and act upon it.
CAMERON VILLAGE: CONSTRUCTING THE AMERICAN DREAM When construction for Cameron Village began in 1949, it became the first shopping center between Washington, DC and Atlanta, GA.
URBAN CENTERS AND THE PROSPECTIVE GROWTH OF RALEIGH Over the past 20 years, Raleigh has seen a huge surge in population growth. From 2000 to
FAMILY TIES: HOW THE LINEAGE OF WEALTH FLOWS THROUGH TIME Every city has its origins; Raleigh is no exception. With humble beginnings, Wake County and Raleigh were
THE POLITICS OF EDUCATION IN ACCESS IN RALEIGH, NC The pendulum of history swings in a network of action-reaction, complicated by political, economic, and racial prejudices.
REINVENTING A HISTORIC DISTRICT IN DOWNTOWN RALEIGH “Time makes certain structures obsolete for some enterprises, and they become available to others. Time can make the
NETWORK OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IN THE TRIANGLE, NC: 1968-1969 This data visualization maps a robust history and network of civil disobedience as the impetus for change