Resources for Activity 3: Mapping Your Community Through Time

Overview:
In this activity, student teams investigate the social, cultural, economic, aesthetic, and environmental components of their community to create map overlays and reports describing the development of their community through time.

Student Pages:
Research Hints
Maps and Map Features
Team - Zoning and Regulations
Team - Housing
Team - Transportation
Team - Water and Wastewater
Team - Green Infrastructure
Team - Business and Industry
Case Study - Developing the "Breadway Corridor": San Antonio, Texas Uses GIS Tool for Collaborative Planning

Websites Referenced in Activity 3:
ArcVoyager (http://www.esri.com/industries/k-12/education/voyager.html)
Evironmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov)
Search Your Community (http://www.epa.gov/epahome/commsearch.htm)
United State Geological Survey (www.usgs.gov)
Green Map System (www.greenmap.com)
US Census Bureau (www.census.gov)
Environmental Defense Fund Scorecard (www.scorecard.org)

Additional Resources
My Community, Our Earth: Geographic Learning for Sustainable Development (MyCOE) is designed for youth to develop their own projects using a vast array of free on-line resources including: a student project guide, GIS software, gallery of past projects, access to maps and data world-wide, and a pool of expert mentors.

"Growth and Water Resources" Training Module explains how changes in land use affect water resources, and it presents national data on trends in development patterns that have become increasingly significant challenges for achieving water quality standards. EPA's Watershed Academy Web has over 50 modules on a wide variety of watershed management topics. The Academy also offers a Watershed Management Certificate program for visitors who complete 15 required modules.

Maporama allows users to enter an address, and view a map which provides the longitude and latitude in the lower left corner.

Terra Server provides a map when an address is entered. Users can then click on the map to reveal latitude and longitude coordinates.

Jump to the State provides a LOOK UP TABLE of the largest cities in states.

INFOPLEASE gives users a list of cities and their geographic data.

Map Machine allows students to look at their school (or home) from space.

Google Maps is another useful tool for looking at specific locations from space.

Mission Geography supplies remote sensing lesson plans, made available by NASA.

Event Based Science provides remote sensing activities from NASA and MD public schools.

WETMAP: Wetland Education Through Maps and Aerial Photography develops workshops and supports a website for educators that provide basic ecological concepts, technological skills in the use of maps, aerial photography, satellite imagery, and methods of interpretation necessary for understanding and assessing wetland and upland habitat change.

Earth from Space - This Smithsonian Institution website provides students (and teachers!) access to views of conditions and events on earth that are nearly impossible to document from the Earth’s surface. The site proves interactive; explaining how satellite imagery is gathered and used to better understand the world around us.

NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, & Information Service (NESDIS)
NESDIS gives access to global environmental data from satellites, manages these data relating to the Earth and solar environments, and conducts related research. The website lists resources for students and educators. The resources include posters, slide sets, teacher guides and quizzes, a glossary, fact sheets, and handouts.

EPA tools let computer users "see" air quality information on a virtual globe:
Go to the Air Emissions Sources Web site: www.epa.gov/air/emissions
View information in Google Earth format about which facilities emit any of six common pollutants: http://www.epa.gov/air/emissions/where.htm 
See AQI forecasts and current conditions: www.airnow.gov
View air quality information in Google Earth format: http://airnow.gov/index.cfm?action=google_earth.main
EPA is also using the Google Earth platform to display Acid Rain Program data: http://epa.gov/airmarkets/progress/interactivemapping.html 

Charting Your Community Through Time - Have a look at this PowerPoint, which offers an alternative to maps when comparing your community through time by using population census data and forest cover statistics! 

State Specific Resources
Boston Historic Overview - Check out this PowerPoint that shows historical maps and aerial photographs for the Boston area.

Virginia aerial photos over time and with school locations – aids educators in leading meaningful watershed experiences with their students.

Related Earth & Sky Shows:
- Sally Collins: '6,000 acres of open land lost to development daily'  (2008)  
- Sally Collins, with an Overview of U.S. Forests in the Early 21st Century (2008) 
- Michael Fishman: Pedestrian Engineering Improves Designs in Public Spaces (2009)     
- Robert Bonnie on Financial Incentives for Preserving Forests  (2008) 
- Jo Pierce’s Tree Farm Sustained with Careful, Long-term thinking  (2008)