The HoBo-Dyer projection is an equal-area representation of a cylindrical world map. As an equal-area projection, it ensures that any region on the map maintains the same proportional area as any other part, meaning all countries are depicted in their true size relative to one another — unlike the distorted representations of the Mercator projection that have dominated classrooms for centuries. Since no cylindrical projection can avoid all distortion, the HoBo-Dyer achieves “zero distortion” at the standard parallels of 37.5 degrees latitude north and south, stretching low latitudes vertically less than the Peters Map while accepting greater compression near the poles. This projection, available in both traditional North-up and radical South-up orientations, is widely considered the best compromise achievable on a rectangular sheet of paper. Building on the legacy of Arno Peters and his commitment to representing all peoples equally, the HoBo-Dyer map has been adopted by educators, UN agencies, social movements, and organizations worldwide as an icon of geographic equity.

Explore the HoBo-Dyer maps

You can download HoBo-Dyer maps with North-Up or South-Up orientation, either detailed or simple, in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Seeing the World Through Maps

Maps are never neutral. They are, and have always been, instruments of power — tools that shape how we understand spatial relationships, geopolitics, and our place in the world. The map that hangs in most classrooms across Europe and North America is not simply a representation of geographic reality; it is a product of colonial history, imperial ambition, and the cultural biases of European mapmakers.

“Just as none of us is outside or beyond geography, none of us is completely free from the struggle over geography.”

– Edward Said, Culture and Imperialism

To understand the world, we need an accurate image of it. In order to overcome historical and political contradictions, it requires non-biased spatial knowledge. The HoBo-Dyer equal-area projection represents one of the most significant attempts to create maps that serve the interests of all peoples — not merely those of the colonial powers that dominated cartography for centuries.

A Brief History of World Maps

The Pre-Global Era

Cartograms and maps reflect some of the most beautiful and useful social documents ever produced. The human ability to create maps predates even the invention of writing. Since time immemorial, humans have rendered their perceptions of the world onto sand, bark, cave walls, stones, animal hides, papyrus, clay tablets, and paper — testifying to an innate capacity for spatial awareness.

In this pre-global era, maps were generally localized geographic depictions, uninformed by the geographies of distant lands. They were not characterized by geographic accuracy; rather, they served as media to tell stories about immediate habitats, fauna and flora, and the relationships between objects — often for practical purposes such as hunting.

The Proto-Global Era: Cartography and Colonial Expansion

During the so-called “Age of Exploration” from the 15th to 18th centuries, cartography took a decisive turn to serve the interests of Empire. This era produced maps that would charter the despoilment and pillaging synonymous with imperial colonialism. The militarization of the oceans for extra-territorial land conquest required precise navigational tools — and maps became instruments of domination.

European colonizers explored, savagely usurped, and extra-territorially claimed the lands of Indigenous populations. Native peoples were enslaved, their natural resources purloined. The maps that facilitated this process were not neutral geographic documents but active participants in colonial violence.

The Mercator Projection: A Colonial Worldview

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The image many have of the world is heavily informed by the Mercator projection — a tool devised for nautical navigation that ostensibly became the most widely recognized world map. Gerardus Mercator’s projection was commissioned by the Pope in the 16th century for navigational use during the expansion of Christianity and its Empire. Centuries later, it was inappropriately adopted as a world reference map.

The Mercator projection does possess certain navigational advantages — it displays the shortest distance between two points as a straight line on a flat surface. But this comes at a tremendous cost: the projection grossly distorts the relative sizes of landmasses, systematically exaggerating regions near the poles while minimizing those near the equator.

Problems with the Mercator Projection

• Greenland appears as large as Africa, though Africa is actually 14 times larger
• Europe appears comparable to South America, though South America is twice Europe’s size
• Alaska seems almost half the size of the United States, yet is smaller than Mexico
• The projection places warped emphasis on Europe and North America at the “top”
• It perpetuates racist, colonialist notions of geographic supremacy

“Why was Mercator’s map so long in use, up to our present? Because he came just in the minute when Europe took over the world. So, his map is a map of the epoch of Eurocentrism. Of Colonialism, Imperialism, of whatever you want. This period is over.”

— Arno Peters

It speaks volumes that the Mercator projection remained standard in classrooms centuries after its creation for colonial navigation. The map embodies the worldview of European expansion — placing the colonial powers at the center and top of the world, while diminishing the representation of colonized peoples in Africa, South America, and Asia.

What’s Up with North-Up?

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Astronomy tells us there is no “up” or “down” in space. There is no valid scientific reason why the Northern Hemisphere should be “on top” of any map. The North-up orientation is entirely arbitrary — yet it has contributed to culturally-laden biases that associate “North,” “Europe,” and “West” with progress and superiority, while “South,” “Africa,” and “East” are coded as inferior or underdeveloped.

In the Middle Ages, East was often displayed at the “top” of maps. The origin of the terms “the Orient” and “orientation” can be traced to this convention of placing East Asia at the top. The South-up orientation was regarded as correct for prayer in early Islamic cartography, since many communities that first converted to Islam lived directly north of Mecca. Most early Islamic world maps were oriented with South at the top.

The convention of displaying North as “up” might be explained by the fixed reference point of the North Star for navigational purposes. During the so-called Age of Exploration, European mapmakers adopted the North-up convention for navigational reference — and this Eurocentric choice became normalized as the “natural” way to view the world.

By flipping the Earth’s representation with South at the top, we can see the physical world through an entirely new perspective: Northern Europe, Canada, and Russia lose their visual predominance, and the significance of the Southern Hemisphere is considerably enhanced. Such “reversed maps” offer viewers a viscerally upending experience — as though seeing the world for the first time.

Arno Peters: The Man Behind the Revolution

Arno Peters (1916–2002) was a German historian who, despite having no formal cartographic training, would devise maps that have been called “the single greatest advance in map-making in 400 years.” His radical cartographic legacy sought to end the biased worldview centered on Western civilization, shattering centuries of prevailing misrepresentation.

Peters was raised in an activist household in Germany during the 1930s. His father, Bruno Peters, was a union member imprisoned by the Nazi regime near the end of World War II. The family often hosted politically-active foreign visitors, including William Pickens of the NAACP, whose stories of Black liberation left a lasting impression on the young Peters.

After receiving his doctorate in history, Peters became convinced that maps such as the Mercator were racist — painting “a fully false picture, particularly regarding the non-white-peopled lands… it over-values the white man and distorts the picture of the world to the advantage of the colonial masters of the time.”

“If, together with the age of colonialism, the view of the world that underpinned it is to come to an end, we need a new geography — one that is based on the equal status of all peoples.”

— Arno Peters, Foreword to the Peters World Atlas

Peters developed his namesake map based on a mathematical projection formula by 19th-century Scottish clergyman James Gall. He presented it at a press conference in 1973, sparking one of the most vibrant debates in the history of cartography. The Peters Projection is an equal-area cylindrical projection that maintains accurate proportional representation of all landmasses — all countries are shown in their true size relative to one another.

Peters also pioneered “reversed orientation” or South-up maps as a means to sensitize viewers against culturally-biased perception. His life’s work — including the monumental two-volume Synchronoptic World History, which accords equal importance to all peoples across 5,000 years — was driven by his conviction to create a more inclusive and equitable world.

The HoBo-Dyer Projection

The HoBo-Dyer equal-area projection map was commissioned in 2002 by Bob Abramms and Howard Bronstein of ODT Inc. and drafted by cartographer Mick Dyer. The name “HoBo-Dyer” derives from the first names of Howard and Bob combined with Dyer’s surname. It represents a modification of the 1910 Behrmann projection, designed as an evolution of the Peters Map legacy.

Like the Peters projection, HoBo-Dyer is an equal-area map, meaning that a region in any part of the map shares the same proportion of area as in any other part. Since no cylindrical projection can avoid all distortions, mapmakers must make compromises. The HoBo-Dyer projection achieves “zero distortion” at the standard parallels of 37.5 degrees latitude north and south. The main difference between the Peters Map and the HoBo-Dyer is that this projection offers less elongation than Peters but more compression at the poles. It is widely considered the best compromise in comparable equal-area projections.

Key Features of the HoBo-Dyer Projection

Why Critical Cartography Matters

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In an increasingly globalized world, geographic literacy has never been more important. Maps are hugely important tools in our daily lives, shaping our perceptions of geopolitics, geography, and international relations. Yet the maps most commonly used in education and media continue to perpetuate distortions rooted in colonial ideology.

Peters’ phenomenal gift — and the HoBo-Dyer projection that carries his legacy forward — represents a monumental contribution to post-colonial geography and cartography. These maps provide a long-overdue overhaul of how we perceive our planet, serving as sources of empowerment and inspiration for generations to come.

“It all stems from this feeling that people should be equal, of equal opportunity, and the world’s reluctance to put that in place.”

— Terry Hardaker, Official Peters Map Cartographer

Critical cartography recognizes that maps are never simply objective statements of geographic “truth” — they contain messages, overt or covert, that reflect the agendas of their makers. By understanding how maps shape perception, we can begin to challenge the spatial frameworks that perpetuate inequality and work toward more equitable representations of our world.