Rethinking the World Map: Dr. Shiv Balram featured on CBC

Dr. Shivanand “Shiv” Balram, Lecturer in SFU Geography, was recently featured in a CBC Radio article on the limitations of the Mercator projection and the growing movement to adopt more accurate world maps.

Explaining why the Mercator map distorts our understanding of continents like Africa, Dr. Balram noted:

“Imagine trying to make a beach ball flat. It is near impossible to do so without making strategic tears on the beach ball in order to make it flat without any folds.”

He emphasized that the Mercator projection, while useful for navigation, has been misused for purposes it was not designed for; “If we need to represent shapes and areas correctly on a map, then we need another map projection that preserves areas and shapes.”

Read the full article on CBC: Common world map shows 'distorted view' of Africa. Advocates are trying to change that