ArchDaily · Creativity & design

UN Adopts Resolution to Move Away from Mercator Projection

The UN General Assembly has voted to encourage the use of equal-area map projections over the Mercator projection, which significantly distorts the relative sizes of countries.

The resolution, sponsored by Togo and supported by the African Union, is non-binding and does not alter Mercator's function for navigation. It aims to replace its widespread use in education, media, and technology, where its area distortions have been prevalent for nearly two centuries.

Mercator's projection is conformal, preserving shapes and angles at the expense of area, which increases with distance from the equator. For example, Africa is about fourteen times larger than Greenland, though they appear similar in size on a Mercator map.

France recently switched to the equal-area Eckert IV projection. The United States voted against the UN resolution, calling it a distraction and an "ideological agenda."

The debate highlights that map choices are not neutral, influencing perceptions of global scale and importance. Historically, maps have reflected the perspectives and power structures of their creators.

Artistic practices, such as Bouchra Khalili's "The Mapping Journey Project" and Dele Adeyemo's "The Cosmogony of (Racial) Capitalism," offer alternative ways of representing space and territory, challenging dominant cartographic narratives.

The shift to equal-area projections like Equal Earth symbolically elevates regions that were historically marginalized or colonized by correcting their perceived size. This move is framed as an act of truth and a correction of historical misrepresentation.

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