Teaching with and through Maps

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 25.04.02

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Demographics
  3. Rationale
  4. Content Objectives
  5. Teaching Strategies
  6. Teaching Activities
  7. Classroom Texts and Materials
  8. Annotated Bibliography
  9. Appendix on Implementing District Standards
  10. Notes

For the Record: Mapping Disparities in American Homeownership

Kariann Flynn

Published September 2025

Tools for this Unit:

Annotated Bibliography

Bailey & Co, H. H., George W Lewis, and John C Harkness. Wilmington, Del. Albany, N.Y., G. W. Lewis, 1874. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/75693172/.

This catalog includes a panoramic map of Wilmington, Delaware circa 1874.

Delaware Nation. “Early Contact.” The History of Delaware Nation. https://www.delawarenation-nsn.gov/history/.

This website describes early contact between European settlers and the Lenni Lenape, a group indigenous to the present-day state of Delaware.

Lewis, Harold M. “Map of Existing Land Uses: City of Wilmington, DE Residential Neighborhood 8,1956.” Image taken by Kariann Flynn. June 20, 2025. Delaware Public Archives.

This is a personal photograph of a neighborhood in Wilmington, DE that depicts current and proposed land uses in 1956.

Gibbons, Joseph. “Linking U.S. Government-Sponsored Redlining to Early-Stage White Flight, 1940-1950.” 2024. Urban Geography 45, no. 8: 1387. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2024.2305591.

This article describes how redlining exacerbated white flight from urban cores in the mid-20th century.

Ibsen, Peter, Anna Bierbrauer, Lucila M. Corro, et. Al. "Land-use and Socioeconomic Time-Series Reveal Legacy of Redlining on Present-Day Gentrification within a Growing United States City." PLoS One 20, no. 3 (03, 2025). 2. doi:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317988. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/land-use-socioeconomic-time-series-reveal-legacy/docview/3173340170/se-2.

This article describes how frequent zoning changes in formerly redlined neighborhoods leaves those areas vulnerable to economic disinvestment and/or gentrification.

Joint Center for Housing Studies. 2025. US National–Homeownership Rate by Race and Ethnicity: 1994–2024. The State of the Nation’s Housing 2025. Harvard University. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/data-search?keyword=homeownership.

This document compiles census data to report rates of homeownership for each racial demographic in the United States.

Lawrence, Jacob. The Great Migration: An American Story. (HarperCollins, 1995).

This is a book of Jacob Lawrence’s illustrations that provide a visual historiography of The Great Migration of Black Americans during the 20th century.

Learning for Justice. “The Color of Law: Creating Racially Segregated Communities.” https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/lessons/the-color-of-law-creating-racially-segregated-communities.

This website provides teaching tips and strategies for teaching about redlining; moreover, the website includes links to primary sources that teachers can use in a gallery walk activity to teach about redlining.

Map of Wilmington as of 1772. Delaware Public Archives. 1325-203 State Map Collection Map of Wilmington 1772. https://delaware.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15323coll6/id/40712/.

This map of Wilmington depicts the borough of Wilmington prior to incorporation as a city.

Markley, Scott. 2024. "Federal ‘redlining’ Maps: A Critical Reappraisal." Urban Studies (Edinburgh, Scotland) 61 (2): 201

This article revisits previous research on redlining and claims from opposing viewpoints on the role of redlining in reshaping urban communities in the 20th century.

National Archives. “The Great Migration 1910-1970.” June 2021. https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/migrations/great-migration.

This website gives a brief overview of the causes and effects of The Great Migration.

National Archives Catalog, “Wilmington, DE,” Record Group 31: Records of the Federal Housing Administration, Series: Real Property City Survey Maps, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/208156486.

This catalog includes a digitized version of the Federal Housing Authority’s research map of Wilmington, Delaware circa 1935-1940.

National Gallery of Art. “Uncovering America: Industrial Revolution.” National Gallery of Art. https://www.nga.gov/educational-resources/uncovering-america/industrial-revolution. 

This website provides multiple image sets to build student background knowledge about the American Industrial Revolution.

National Geographic. “MapMaker: Redlining in the United States.” https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/mapmaker-redlining-united-states/.

This website gives a brief overview of redlining and its impacts on urban communities.

The City of Wilmington. “City History.” https://www.wilmingtonde.gov/about-us/about-the-city-of-wilmington/city-history.

This website gives a brief history of the city of Wilmington.

The City of Wilmington. “Demographic Characteristics.” 2010 Census Demographic Profile. American Community Survey 5 Year Estimates. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.wilmingtonde.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/336/636006729919430000.

The documents on this website include demographic information and maps for all census tracts within city limits.

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