Jen Mapes
@mapesgeog.bsky.social
Community geographer, cartographer, pedestrian, cyclist. Author of "The New American Small Town: Lessons for sustainable urban futures" (West Virginia University Press, June 2025). https://communitygeography.kent.edu/
Reposted by Jen Mapes
Do you like #maps? The Independent Map Artists (mapartists.org) has hit a big milestone and now has 50(!) members, all interested in helping with your holiday shopping. Hundreds of maps & mappy goods, straight from small businesses.
Connecting creators & customers is hard; please consider sharing.
Connecting creators & customers is hard; please consider sharing.
November 22, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Do you like #maps? The Independent Map Artists (mapartists.org) has hit a big milestone and now has 50(!) members, all interested in helping with your holiday shopping. Hundreds of maps & mappy goods, straight from small businesses.
Connecting creators & customers is hard; please consider sharing.
Connecting creators & customers is hard; please consider sharing.
This playground at The Battery in NYC restored my faith that we CAN do urban design right.
November 27, 2025 at 1:39 AM
This playground at The Battery in NYC restored my faith that we CAN do urban design right.
Reposted by Jen Mapes
Most XKCD strips: fuck yeah science!
A small number of special XKCD strips: *sobbing uncontrollably* fuck yeah science
A small number of special XKCD strips: *sobbing uncontrollably* fuck yeah science
Just having a little cry reading the latest xkcd how about you xkcd.com/3172
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Most XKCD strips: fuck yeah science!
A small number of special XKCD strips: *sobbing uncontrollably* fuck yeah science
A small number of special XKCD strips: *sobbing uncontrollably* fuck yeah science
We were out on a trail about a mile from the trailhead and a trailrunner came by who stopped to tell us that the trail ahead was good bc someone had been by to blow the leaves. It’s that deep in our consciousness.
You know what, I'm just gonna re-up this post
November 24, 2025 at 3:21 PM
We were out on a trail about a mile from the trailhead and a trailrunner came by who stopped to tell us that the trail ahead was good bc someone had been by to blow the leaves. It’s that deep in our consciousness.
Reposted by Jen Mapes
It's that time of year when Americans set up quaint, walkable Christmas villages in their living rooms, dreaming of living in such a cozy place.
Meanwhile, they'll show up to city council meetings to fiercely oppose any plan that would actually build that kind of car-lite community in real life.
Meanwhile, they'll show up to city council meetings to fiercely oppose any plan that would actually build that kind of car-lite community in real life.
November 23, 2025 at 3:13 AM
It's that time of year when Americans set up quaint, walkable Christmas villages in their living rooms, dreaming of living in such a cozy place.
Meanwhile, they'll show up to city council meetings to fiercely oppose any plan that would actually build that kind of car-lite community in real life.
Meanwhile, they'll show up to city council meetings to fiercely oppose any plan that would actually build that kind of car-lite community in real life.
I’ve been in the Merriman Valley a lot lately and it’s this juxtaposition of beautiful trails, great coffee, sewer infrastructure, and ugly shopping plazas. I need to read the neighborhood’s master plan — still in the city of Akron yet so distant from it. Right at the edge of the National Park.
November 22, 2025 at 9:07 PM
I’ve been in the Merriman Valley a lot lately and it’s this juxtaposition of beautiful trails, great coffee, sewer infrastructure, and ugly shopping plazas. I need to read the neighborhood’s master plan — still in the city of Akron yet so distant from it. Right at the edge of the National Park.
GIS Day in the Community Geography Lab, including a mapathon georeferencing Sanborns using AllMaps.
November 20, 2025 at 3:10 AM
GIS Day in the Community Geography Lab, including a mapathon georeferencing Sanborns using AllMaps.
The NACIS videos are up! Are you map-curious? Or map-obsessed (like me)? Scroll on through and see what you missed at our annual conference. www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... Mine is a how-to for making a lighted 3d neighborhood map www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5rd...
Relighting history: Building a 3d-printed interactive map of a hidden neighborhood - Jennifer Mapes
YouTube video by NACIS
www.youtube.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The NACIS videos are up! Are you map-curious? Or map-obsessed (like me)? Scroll on through and see what you missed at our annual conference. www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... Mine is a how-to for making a lighted 3d neighborhood map www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5rd...
Our city recently decided that this side of a building (on a street corner) is a “facade” and thus is not allowed, and requires permission from council to be used for a mural. 🫠
James Brown, Cincinnati
November 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Our city recently decided that this side of a building (on a street corner) is a “facade” and thus is not allowed, and requires permission from council to be used for a mural. 🫠
Reposted by Jen Mapes
“Someone with a 1-hr car commute needs to earn 40% more to be as happy as someone with a short walk to work. On the other hand, if someone shifts from a long commute to a walk, their happiness increases as much as if they’d fallen in love.” #CityMakingMath
50 reasons to want more walkable cities.
50 reasons to want more walkable cities.
50 Reasons Why Everyone Should Want More Walkable Streets
From making you live longer to making cities more resilient: If you want a reason to make your city more walkable, it's in here.
www.fastcompany.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:40 AM
“Someone with a 1-hr car commute needs to earn 40% more to be as happy as someone with a short walk to work. On the other hand, if someone shifts from a long commute to a walk, their happiness increases as much as if they’d fallen in love.” #CityMakingMath
50 reasons to want more walkable cities.
50 reasons to want more walkable cities.
Reposted by Jen Mapes
Day 7 of #30DayMapChallenge asked us to think about accessibility. @gsagostini.bsky.social considers two metrics of access simultaneously: distance to a Subway and distance to the subway.
November 13, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Day 7 of #30DayMapChallenge asked us to think about accessibility. @gsagostini.bsky.social considers two metrics of access simultaneously: distance to a Subway and distance to the subway.
The New American Small Town was reviewed in JAPA -- excited to see it shared with the planners! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
The New American Small Town: Lessons for Sustainable Urban Futures
Published in Journal of the American Planning Association (Ahead of Print, 2025)
www.tandfonline.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:16 PM
The New American Small Town was reviewed in JAPA -- excited to see it shared with the planners! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Another beautiful atlas saved from recycling. This one appears to be a guide for boating down a river in Belgium? Love the bridge illustrations.
November 13, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Another beautiful atlas saved from recycling. This one appears to be a guide for boating down a river in Belgium? Love the bridge illustrations.
Toured the new Davey Tree research & training campus today with students from around the US. The 200 acre campus & facilities were great but most impressed by their happy & enthusiastic employees. Glad they’re such good neighbors here in Kent & expanding (12,000 employees across the country!)
November 11, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Toured the new Davey Tree research & training campus today with students from around the US. The 200 acre campus & facilities were great but most impressed by their happy & enthusiastic employees. Glad they’re such good neighbors here in Kent & expanding (12,000 employees across the country!)
Snowing today, but the dawn redwood (one of only a few deciduous conifers) is warming up my lab with color 🧡. Our grounds manager tells me this was only planted 20 years ago but it already towers over our 4 story building.
November 10, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Snowing today, but the dawn redwood (one of only a few deciduous conifers) is warming up my lab with color 🧡. Our grounds manager tells me this was only planted 20 years ago but it already towers over our 4 story building.
Reposted by Jen Mapes
"And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters"
Beautiful cover of Fitzgerald by Ross Thorn, recorded this morning on the shores of Lake Superior.
www.instagram.com/reel/DQ4hq80...
Beautiful cover of Fitzgerald by Ross Thorn, recorded this morning on the shores of Lake Superior.
www.instagram.com/reel/DQ4hq80...
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November 10, 2025 at 5:40 PM
"And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters"
Beautiful cover of Fitzgerald by Ross Thorn, recorded this morning on the shores of Lake Superior.
www.instagram.com/reel/DQ4hq80...
Beautiful cover of Fitzgerald by Ross Thorn, recorded this morning on the shores of Lake Superior.
www.instagram.com/reel/DQ4hq80...
Reposted by Jen Mapes
Just preaching my message of "wanting to do less more often" we all have our reasons.
November 10, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Just preaching my message of "wanting to do less more often" we all have our reasons.
To get a better sense of the neighborhood I thought I'd try showing how many people lived at each address because some were single-family homes and others apartments but they were getting the same symbol. Trying to add a business layer but that's a bit much in a static map.
November 9, 2025 at 7:34 PM
To get a better sense of the neighborhood I thought I'd try showing how many people lived at each address because some were single-family homes and others apartments but they were getting the same symbol. Trying to add a business layer but that's a bit much in a static map.
Reposted by Jen Mapes
Car brand BYD's new SUV ad pokes fun at people walking and cycling, comparing them to Horse & Carts.
It joins a long list of car ads that sell a false promise of convenience and aspiration while punching down at sustainable transport modes.
So I made it a bit more realistic...
It joins a long list of car ads that sell a false promise of convenience and aspiration while punching down at sustainable transport modes.
So I made it a bit more realistic...
November 7, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Car brand BYD's new SUV ad pokes fun at people walking and cycling, comparing them to Horse & Carts.
It joins a long list of car ads that sell a false promise of convenience and aspiration while punching down at sustainable transport modes.
So I made it a bit more realistic...
It joins a long list of car ads that sell a false promise of convenience and aspiration while punching down at sustainable transport modes.
So I made it a bit more realistic...
#30daymapchallenge Day 7: Accessibility. Made a quick map for a friend of elementary school redistricting. Lots of ways to analyze this but of course my interest was in "how many students that could walk to school are now put into a non-walkable (further away) school/district?"
November 7, 2025 at 5:44 PM
#30daymapchallenge Day 7: Accessibility. Made a quick map for a friend of elementary school redistricting. Lots of ways to analyze this but of course my interest was in "how many students that could walk to school are now put into a non-walkable (further away) school/district?"
How do you map a neighborhood that doesn't exist anymore? By manually georeferencing it! 🫠 Building a case here that urban renewal segregated this integrated neighborhood of thousands of people.
November 7, 2025 at 1:48 PM
How do you map a neighborhood that doesn't exist anymore? By manually georeferencing it! 🫠 Building a case here that urban renewal segregated this integrated neighborhood of thousands of people.
Reposted by Jen Mapes
There are a lot of arguments for why Mamdani won. I, a pundit, believe it was the typeface.
www.curbed.com/article/zohr...
www.curbed.com/article/zohr...
Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign Logo Looked Nothing Like a Campaign Logo
The bodega-influenced visual language of an outsider campaign.
www.curbed.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:40 PM
There are a lot of arguments for why Mamdani won. I, a pundit, believe it was the typeface.
www.curbed.com/article/zohr...
www.curbed.com/article/zohr...
Reposted by Jen Mapes
#30DayMapChallenge
Day 2: Lines – The Secret Life of Streams 💧
UV light reveals piped streams.
Early Wellington was shaped by streams flowing to the harbour. As the city grew, many were piped underground, hidden from sight but still running beneath our feet.
#Wellington #Flooding #cartography
Day 2: Lines – The Secret Life of Streams 💧
UV light reveals piped streams.
Early Wellington was shaped by streams flowing to the harbour. As the city grew, many were piped underground, hidden from sight but still running beneath our feet.
#Wellington #Flooding #cartography
November 2, 2025 at 10:42 AM
#30DayMapChallenge
Day 2: Lines – The Secret Life of Streams 💧
UV light reveals piped streams.
Early Wellington was shaped by streams flowing to the harbour. As the city grew, many were piped underground, hidden from sight but still running beneath our feet.
#Wellington #Flooding #cartography
Day 2: Lines – The Secret Life of Streams 💧
UV light reveals piped streams.
Early Wellington was shaped by streams flowing to the harbour. As the city grew, many were piped underground, hidden from sight but still running beneath our feet.
#Wellington #Flooding #cartography
Reposted by Jen Mapes
"Neighbourhood interiors were never intended for commercial activity", says one letter writer. To be fair, this is true, if you toss the entirety of human history and modern day Earth outside North America in the trash, and think that urban planning less than a century old is ironclad natural law.
No corner coffee shops: Toronto committee waters down neighbourhood retail plan
It’s the second time in less than a year councillors balked at allowing certain businesses to open on some residential streets
www.torontotoday.ca
October 31, 2025 at 1:29 PM
"Neighbourhood interiors were never intended for commercial activity", says one letter writer. To be fair, this is true, if you toss the entirety of human history and modern day Earth outside North America in the trash, and think that urban planning less than a century old is ironclad natural law.
Love this! All aboard for the #30DayMapChallenge (that I don't have time to ....well, maybe one or two....)
Day 1 #30DayMapChallenge: Points 🧵🪡
I created a hand-felted map of Wellington showing Community Emergency Hubs as buttons, using locations from the GWRC web map viewer (via the Natural Hazards Portal).
It is roughly to scale, offering a soft, tactile take on community resilience. 💚
I created a hand-felted map of Wellington showing Community Emergency Hubs as buttons, using locations from the GWRC web map viewer (via the Natural Hazards Portal).
It is roughly to scale, offering a soft, tactile take on community resilience. 💚
November 1, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Love this! All aboard for the #30DayMapChallenge (that I don't have time to ....well, maybe one or two....)