people’s glossary
we’re demystifying jargon.
We know that being an ally is an active, on-going practice of learning new words and concepts. There is a learning curve. Welcome to the people’s glossary: a useful resource to help you learn foundational terms in the realms of intersectionality, mapping, software, policy, the built environment, urban planning, civics, and more! Here is a sampling of some preliminary terms that we’ve encountered in our work to improve the scope of what we are mapping and all people and spaces represented.
Tongva
Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands.
We are very inspired by the Native Land mapping project. Find out more about the unceded Indigenous land you live on.
For those in Los Angeles, we encourage learning more about the Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa (pronounced Tar-a-haht pah-hava) Conservancy: Welcome to Tovaangar.
Intersectionality
Intersectionality is a conceptual and organizing framework that critically looks at how interlocking and simultaneous systems of oppression and power in society affect those who are most vulnerable/marginalized.
Intersectionality is a term that was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 in response to the fact that white feminism and Black liberationist politics had not reflected the experiences of Black women, whose lives are affected by both racism and sexism. Intersectionality is a holistic approach for investigating oppression in society.
Examples of social intersections: race, sex, gender, class, sexual orientation, ability, religion, among many others.
Open Source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification, enhancement, and redistribution.
Check back soon for a compilation of our favorite open source projects!
Praxis
Praxis is the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, embodied, realized, applied, or put into practice.
Social Practice
Social practice is an art medium focusing on engagement through human interaction and social discourse. Social practice goes by many names, including relational aesthetics, new genre public art, socially engaged art, dialogical art, and participatory art.
GIS
A geographic information system (GIS) is a framework for gathering, managing, and analyzing data. Rooted in the science of geography, GIS integrates many types of data. It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of information into visualizations using maps and 3D scenes.
Prototype
An early experimental model from which other forms are developed or replicated.
Prototyping is often an iterative process where design teams implement ideas into tangible forms from paper to digital. This is true for us as we build off our early risograph print editions to transition into launching the digital components of the Angelena Atlas.
Angelene
Latine is a gender-neutral neologism alternative term to other identifying terms such as Latino, Latina, or Latinx.
Abolition
The prison abolition movement is a network of groups and activists that seeks to eliminate prisons and the prison system, and replace them with systems of rehabilitation that do not place a focus on punishment and government institutionalization.
Check back next week for a list of abolitionist groups working to end mass incarceration in Los Angeles and beyond.
Wayfinding
Wayfinding refers to information systems that guide people through a physical environment and enhance their understanding and experience of the space. Wayfinding is particularly important in complex built environments such as urban centers, healthcare and educational campuses, and transportation facilities.