Sensitive cartographies and artistic practices as a situated method: Research-creation in depopulated rural communities

Abstract

Rural depopulation in Castile and León highlights the need for participatory methodologies capable of rebuilding community ties and generating situated knowledge. Despite the growing use of collaborative mapping, there remains a gap in the literature regarding systematic approaches that integrate social cartography, artistic practices, and service-learning with public feedback processes in cultural institutions. In response, this article presents the framework of sensitive cartographies, developed in the province of (BLINDED) through a mixed-methods design combining interviews, collaborative mapping, audiovisual narratives, and a questionnaire administered to students. The study enabled a situated reinterpretation of rural geographies based on the voices of local inhabitants and explored the relationship between rural identity, rural and territorial memory, and processes of community activation. The findings are organized around four key analytical dimensions: participatory knowledge production, desirable futures, local agency, and the transition from academic research to the public sphere through expanded cartography. The ethical implications of working with rural migrant populations and the role of art as an epistemic and affective mediator are also discussed. Overall, the research proposes a comprehensive and dialogical approach that contributes to understanding and strengthening community processes in rural regions affected by depopulation.