The ReliefMaps+ platforms is one of the central outputs of the INTERMAPS’ project. This platform, revisited the previous versions to enhance the possibilities for collecting, analyzing, and visualizing qualitative, quantitative, and spatial data on lived experience from large-scale samples.


The new version of the ReliefMaps+ digital platform is available at https://reliefmaps.upf.edu and it is open and free to use for researchers, practitioners, and individuals to create their own projects, collect data, and analyse the results using the embedded features. 


The development of the new platform was grounded in feminist and intersectional principles. It underwent a thorough validation process: expert surveys, focus groups, pilot tests; regular review meetings with the INTERMAPS team, website developers, and ethical and legal advisors; and iterative testing with diverse participants, to ensure a reflexive, adaptive design. For more information, see: Souza & Rodó-Zárate, 2024; INTERMAPS team, 2026. 

 

 

Relief Maps was first developed as a method for collecting data by hand from participants. Following three steps, participants reflected on their experiences of oppression and privilege in relation to diverse social positions, and in different places of their everyday lives. Then, they drew their own Relief Map.


In 2018, thanks to the funding from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and an award from the Ramon Molinas Foundation for the best social impact project, Relief Maps was developed as a digital platform, which enhanced its potential as a tool for research.  


In 2021, funded by the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant, 2021), Maria Rodó-Zárate started the project INTERMAPS, where the first outcome is to develop the new ReliefMaps+ platform. This new website introduces several innovations that enhance both the data collection process and user experience with improved technology and a more intuitive interface. 


The model has expanded to incorporate additional axes of inequality, broader social and political processes, different spatial scales, and evolving conceptions of place, while maintaining a central concern with lived experience. The new platform, now includes this specific features: 

  • The Avatar: The avatar is a graphical representation of the intersectional social positions of participants, that helps them complete their profile information and enhance reflection on their positionality. 
  • The Relief Maps Model: This is a central part of the tool, where participants explain their experiences and select their emotions, in different spaces, and according to different axes. The updated interface allows users to complete this step in a single, interactive screen. It also allows for more categories and places than before, enriching the data collected. 
  • The Geographical Map: This feature allows for the recollection of georeferenced data of the everyday experiences of the participants. This new feature offers researchers deeper insights into the geographic dimension of social inequalities using GIS technologies.
  • Data Analysis: The platform integrates new features that allows for the analysis of the quantitative, qualitative, and spatial data: heatmaps, boxplots or text analysis, among other analytical and visualization tools, which can be filtered based on the profile information.