Exploring territories through a three-layer field map

Choose a small territory that can be walked safely in thirty minutes. Make three separate maps.

The first map records visible communication: official signs, informal notices, marks, interfaces, and missing information. The second records movement: routes, pauses, barriers, shortcuts, and changes in pace. The third records interpretation: what the observer thinks these signs and movements mean.

Keeping the maps separate prevents interpretation from appearing as direct observation. Students mark uncertainty and note where access, time of day, weather, language, or their own position changes what they can know.

The final composition combines the layers but keeps their status visible. Use a legend that distinguishes observed, reported, and inferred material. Critique asks which claim is supported by the map and which claim needs another method.