The lack of such tools for EJ communities often leads to decision-makers overlooking key environmental justice issues. A number of GIS efforts in the past have attempted to mobilize data resources for a combination of reasons, including inappropriate complexity, lack of sustainability, and lack of accessibility. Heavy emphasis will be placed on the design process to ensure that the interface developed grounds the data in the community's experience and usefully represents their understandings of the geography of pollution in their community. A second product from the course will focus on the process of community mapping itself. While on the tour, students will take photos and record key information about each site, in addition to noting geographic locations, landmarks and addresses.
Community residents begin by brainstorming the risks they faced in their communities.
By design, the brainstorming is specific, naming the environmental risk along with its location in the community. Residents will then be asked to draw their communities on poster-board. In some cases the community organization will already have a map with boundaries, streets and landmarks. Public domain GIS data sets will be collected and clipped to community boundaries. This symposium will be open to all.