Mapping Social Inequality: A Critical Reflection on the Use of GIS for Social Change
(2026) SGEM08 20261Department of Human Geography
- Abstract
- Social inequality is shaped by uneven access to opportunities across space, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have become a common tool for analysing and visualising these spatial patterns. However, GIS is often mistakenly perceived as an objective method, when in reality it holds inherent power structures that must be viewed through a critical lens. This thesis investigates the challenges and opportunities of using GIS to understand social inequality, as well as the implications this has for policy and planning processes. The thesis is grounded in critical GIS theory, drawing on debates between technology-focused and critical geographers, as well as feminist critiques of GIS as a masculinist and detached method. Using a... (More)
- Social inequality is shaped by uneven access to opportunities across space, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have become a common tool for analysing and visualising these spatial patterns. However, GIS is often mistakenly perceived as an objective method, when in reality it holds inherent power structures that must be viewed through a critical lens. This thesis investigates the challenges and opportunities of using GIS to understand social inequality, as well as the implications this has for policy and planning processes. The thesis is grounded in critical GIS theory, drawing on debates between technology-focused and critical geographers, as well as feminist critiques of GIS as a masculinist and detached method. Using a mixed-methods approach, the thesis combines a literature review with a self-made GIS multi-criteria analysis of social inequality in Malmö, using two different open data sources, and semi-structured interviews with two GIS professionals. The GIS analysis is used as a self-critiqued example to explore the practical challenges of representing social inequality spatially, while the interviews provide professional perspectives on GIS's role in planning and policy. The findings show that GIS analysis is vulnerable to problems such as the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), ecological fallacy, and spatial fetishism, all which risk stigmatising the areas and people it aims to represent. Accessibility of both software and high-quality data was also found to be a significant barrier, limiting who can produce trustworthy GIS-based research. Both interviewees agreed that GIS should be used to support, rather than replace, human judgement and qualitative methods in planning decisions. The thesis concludes that the value of GIS lies not in the software itself but in the critical awareness and choices of the person using it. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9249742
- author
- Wassenius, William LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SGEM08 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9249742
- date added to LUP
- 2026-09-01 10:34:54
- date last changed
- 2026-09-01 10:34:54
@misc{9249742,
abstract = {{Social inequality is shaped by uneven access to opportunities across space, and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have become a common tool for analysing and visualising these spatial patterns. However, GIS is often mistakenly perceived as an objective method, when in reality it holds inherent power structures that must be viewed through a critical lens. This thesis investigates the challenges and opportunities of using GIS to understand social inequality, as well as the implications this has for policy and planning processes. The thesis is grounded in critical GIS theory, drawing on debates between technology-focused and critical geographers, as well as feminist critiques of GIS as a masculinist and detached method. Using a mixed-methods approach, the thesis combines a literature review with a self-made GIS multi-criteria analysis of social inequality in Malmö, using two different open data sources, and semi-structured interviews with two GIS professionals. The GIS analysis is used as a self-critiqued example to explore the practical challenges of representing social inequality spatially, while the interviews provide professional perspectives on GIS's role in planning and policy. The findings show that GIS analysis is vulnerable to problems such as the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), ecological fallacy, and spatial fetishism, all which risk stigmatising the areas and people it aims to represent. Accessibility of both software and high-quality data was also found to be a significant barrier, limiting who can produce trustworthy GIS-based research. Both interviewees agreed that GIS should be used to support, rather than replace, human judgement and qualitative methods in planning decisions. The thesis concludes that the value of GIS lies not in the software itself but in the critical awareness and choices of the person using it.}},
author = {{Wassenius, William}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Mapping Social Inequality: A Critical Reflection on the Use of GIS for Social Change}},
year = {{2026}},
}