Following neighborhood history through maps

NPC Newsletter September 25, 2025

Mapping Cultural Resources: Creating a Community Map

As natural disasters continue to alter the landscape of our neighborhoods, mapping cultural resources is becoming more important in helping understand and preserve the identify of the places we inhabit.

However, because a cultural resource map can have several goals, the process for creating one will vary. 

Are you thinking about creating a map to:

• Build community cohesion and identity?
• Capture historical, architectural, and community-designated places of importance?
• Support a narrative for tourism and economic development?
• Create an inventory for disaster planning and management professionals? If so, does this inventory contain information on building design, materials, history, and use?

The level of robustness in a cultural resources mapping project will depend on the quality and quantity of data gathered. Access to other resources may also impact how you present your data - as a stand-alone database, simple map or GIS mapping systems.

As neighborhoods change over time, think about setting a process that meets your community needs for updating data and community stories over time.

Check out the cultural mapping toolkit guide created by 2010 Legacies Now and Creative City Network of Canada, which spells out a process for getting community input and support for your cultural mapping process. (Available for download at nominal fee.)

Connecting Existing Resources 


Historic Buildings, Engineering and Landscape Surveys: A National Park Service program provides detailed records of physical structures, engineering structures, and landscapes of significance because of their architectural or historical value.

State and local municipalities often have their own surveys and inventory resources such as:

• New York State Cultural Resources Information System: CRIS is an advanced Geographic Information System program that provides access to New York State's vast historic and cultural resource databases and now digitized paper records. New York State Parks and Recreations developed this system with funding from Federal Highway Administration's 2008 SAFETEA LU program.

• LUCY Online MapViewer: New Jersey Historic Preservation Office's public map viewer for cultural resources data.

How to share these in real time during an emergency with local responders in order to prioritize protection of heritage sites is something to consider for local neighborhoods.

Additionally, while these resources provide a wealth of information, they may not provide a current view of assets that are critical to the identity of a neighborhood – they may not document the current businesses and cultural resources that residents consider to be foundational institutions in the daily life of their neighborhood.

Training for Cultural Resource Mapping:


• All Things Urban - An international organization with a focus on the use of GIS systems for the development of liveable communities.
• National Park Service - Cultural Resources Geographic Information Systems (CRGIS) staff have offered courses in GIS and GPS since 1995, educating professionals across the U.S.The facility partners with other organizations, such as the National Preservation Institute (NPI), to provide introductory and advanced training in using ArcGIS for cultural resource mapping. 
• New York State Cultural Resource Survey Program (CRSP) and Office of the State Archaeologist at the New York State Museum provide research and assessment of archaeological and architectural resources for other state agencies.  

Technology for Cultural Resource Mapping

• Chronicle Heritage - A heritage consultant firm with examples of mapping for education, advocacy, and planning, including aerial mapping, 3D modeling, and GIS mapping for augmented and virtual reality.

Other Resources:

• National Zoning Atlas - A tool that translates zoning data for the public, “to ensure that researchers, policymakers, and advocates have what they need to understand zoning.”

Have a question or idea about your neighborhood preservation project?

Share your thoughts, suggestions, or resources by emailing us at:

info@nycnpc.org

NPC Newsletter Contributors

L. Danielle Cylich: NPC Board Chair, Danielle is always ready to share enthusiasm about the rich history and beauty found in the built environment and the people who inhabit our neighborhoods, and in protecting our natural resources.
Siena Leone-Getten: An early-career professional, Siena has an interest in community-based preservation and in expanding avenues for preserving the recent past. 

The Neighborhood Preservation Center is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing and enabling conversations about the need for community space - both physical and virtual - in order to improve the urban environment and quality of life.

We work to facilitate mutually beneficial connections between like-minded groups in the livable cities sector, share resources and champion neighborhoods.