Information is the raw material for much of the work that goes on in the contemporary global economy, and there are few people and places that remain entirely disconnected from international and global economic processes. As such, it is important to understand who produces and reproduces, who has access, and who and where are represented by information in our contemporary knowledge economy.
Many now argue that the Internet is allowing a democratisation of information production and that almost anyone can produce any type of information from anywhere. Yet it is remarkable how little we know about contemporary geographies of knowledge and the ways that those information landscapes are changing over time.
Building on previous work (Geographies of the World’s Knowledge; PDF 12MB), this project proposes a comprehensive mapping of contemporary geographies of knowledge. Specifically, this work will examine three key facets of global information geographies: access, information production, and information representation using a combination of primary and secondary data.
We aim for this work to be be of general use to policy makers, the private sector, and the general public as we seek to better understand how and where information is produced in our Internet age.
Professor of Internet Geography
Mark Graham is an economic geographer. His research focuses on digital labour, the gig economy, and digital inequalities. He is the author, most recently, of The Gig Economy: A Critical Introduction.
Project role: Web Designer
Former Researcher
Stefano de Sabbata's research focuses on Internet and information geographies, as well as on geographic and mobile information retrieval. He is currently collaborating with Mark Graham on research into geographic bias in search engines.
