If there are positives to take from 2020 (a big ask I know but bear with me), the spotlight has shone brightly on the use of maps, charts, and data that help us understand COVID-19. It’s quite literally been a viral moment for geography and cartography. Not that maps weren’t vital visual and analytical tools beforehand, but they have taken centre stage this year. And of course, examining the role of geography, and cartography in contemporary infectious disease epidemiology has also meant looking at the past for examples. There’s definitely been something in the water in 2020 as inevitably the story of Dr John Snow and his map of cholera showing the outbreak in Soho, London in 1854 has frequently been recounted. You may know the story. Or you may think you know the story. Let’s see.
