Evaluating life maps as a versatile method for lifecourse geographies

This article discusses the life-mapping method developed for a research project exploring transitions to adulthood with visually impaired young people. After situating life maps as a kind of participatory diagram, the article explains the design and implementation of the life maps, and young people’s response to the method. The second half of the article argues for the value of the life map technique to lifecourse geographies in two ways: practically, supporting a narrative interview and as a graphic organiser of young people’s stories; and empirically, as a way to answer specific research questions about temporality that are more suited to a graphic method.Support during the writing of this article has come from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada