A Central Role for Counter-Mapping with Marginalized Populations to Promote Resilience through Community-Driven Urban Design

Counter-mapping of community assets and hazards deemed relevant to the effects of climate change and environmental exposures on lowest-income residents. of was a component of a multi-year community-based collaborative study between university researchers, a large Public Housing Agency (PHA) in an urban area in the northeast US, and non-profit community organizations. Researchers recruited community members to participate in four focus groups located in different locations of the City to identify design features that either supported or threatened residents’ resilience as they moved throughout the city. Enlarged street maps were used as reference props to help Participants map local features related to their health, well-being, and comfort in the community. Participants readily identified existing and/or missing features in their neighbourhoods and downtown areas and made suggestions for improvements. Counter-mapping is discussed as an important tool for community-driven urban planning and urban design that leverages the preservation of local knowledge and cultural heritage, and challenges the hegemony of design promoted by platform urbanism