Project Ideas

Creating your own community mapping project is easy and fun. Your project can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Here is a list of ideas for getting started.

Community Profile

The goal of this project is to describe your community, similar to a visitor’s guide that helps newcomers understand what is significant and unique about a place. Consider these topics:

• Boundaries of "the community"—how big an area is it, what defines the boundaries
• Natural landscape—landforms, geologic structure, water bodies, other aspects of the physical environment
• Population—count and density
• Demographic patterns—the character of the population
• Land use patterns
• Economic activities
• Transportation corridors and networks
• Historical patterns of settlement and development that are visible today
• Significant current local issues

Community Assets

The goal of this project is to create an inventory of valuable resources, objects, or organizations within your community. For example, you may want to inventory the parks and open spaces within a community, or inventory the social service agencies in the community. Examples include

• Parks/Open space/Recreation centers
• Trees
• Youth programs
• Social services, such as day care, health clinics, employment agencies
• Cultural sites, such as public art or historical markers
• Social clubs and community organizations
• Transportation services, including public transportation

Community History

The goal of this project is to explore the community going back in time to describe significant events and places, and to provide a comparison with the present. Consider these ideas:

• The "founding era" of a town—when was it born and why
• Special events, like floods, fires, or storms, that have changed the physical makeup of the town
• Population—counts and densities over time
• Demographic patterns—the character of the population 10, 20, 50, or 100 years ago
• Land use change—when did today's landmarks come to be, and what did these mean to the land and its people
• Economic activities—how have these changed or stayed constant
• Transportation corridors and networks—how have these shifted with technology and population
• Historical patterns of settlement and development that are visible today
• Significant current local issues

Environment and Conservation

The goal of this project is to identify and describe an environmental issue of concern to the community or threat to natural resources in the community, and suggest options for managing conflicts about the issue or preserving the resource. Topics might include:

• Nearby "wild place" faces increased human uses, creating conflicting needs
• Recent urban expansion is encroaching on existing agricultural land
• "Nighttime darkness" is disappearing in local area, diminishing opportunities for astronomy, disrupting sleep, and affecting local creatures
• Local habitat zone for a particular species is also a valuable economic resource for humans
• Local airport is expanding, and previously quiet communities face increased sound
• Recently introduced species of flora or fauna poses a threat to other species or human activities
• Local neighborhood faces division from construction of new transportation corridors
• Regional patterns of water consumption and recharge point to issues of water rights and usage
• Recently flooded community needs to identify appropriate plans for the future: disperse? move? rebuild on site? rebuild behind flood control walls?
• Long established network of community shops faces uncertain future as a new mall appears

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

The goal of this project is to identify resources for promoting public safety as well as threats to public safety. This inventory of resources and threats can be used to create emergency preparedness plans to help reduce risks and aid in response/recovery when emergencies do occur. Possible topics include:

• Shelter locations for severe weather or other natural disasters
• Evacuation routes
• Emergency services—fire, police, medical, hazardous materials
• Risk assessments for various types of emergencies (severe weather, fire, wildfire, earthquake, chemical spill, public health/disease outbreak, etc.)
• Locations of at-risk populations for different types of emergencies

Top