Running as a catalyst for environmental data inquiry: closing the distance between ‘everyday’ and ‘expert’ knowledges

Abstract

Public misunderstanding of environmental data is often framed as a skills deficit on the part of the audience, but in truth, ‘data’ is multifarious and manifold in everyday life. Drawing on my experiences as a runner with a geographer’s appreciation for maps, this essay charts how running has catalysed my own inquiry with environmental data, acting as an embodied methodology for thinking about place-based environmental change and risks, like flooding. I argue that communication of such risks could be enhanced by integrating data into the everyday spaces and activities where people encounter maps, aiding them to make connections between familiar forms of data and new knowledge.