Annotated Bibliography:
W.E.B. Du Bois – The Seventh Ward
Du Bois’s maps and analysis of Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward offer a powerful historical example of how visual data can expose systemic injustice. This resource helps students understand the intersection of mapping, race, and storytelling while examining urban change over time.
Mark Monmonier – How to Lie With Maps
This book reveals how maps can distort truth through design choices, reminding students to critically evaluate spatial data. It supports discussions in the unit around power, perspective, and the ethical use of cartography.
Esri ArcGIS (community.esri.com/t5/education-blog/bg-p/education blog)–Use search term “hands-on” for many useful ideas. These blogs provide both pedagogical insight and practical tools for engaging students in analog and digital topographic mapping. “Hands-on Topography” in particular aligns with the unit’s emphasis on tactile learning and modeling elevation before transitioning to GIS platforms.
Philadelphia GeoHistory (philageohistory.org)
This site hosts a rich archive of historical Philadelphia maps, including infrastructure, land use, and development over time. It allows students to easily layer new maps over old, or vis a versa, to explore changes in place and environment, connecting past geographies to present-day urban issues.
Hidden City Philadelphia (hiddencityphila.org)
With articles and maps uncovering lesser-known stories of Philadelphia’s architecture and neighborhoods, this site enriches student inquiry into place-based history. It is especially useful for finding narrative threads and visual references for student Story Map projects.
Mapping for Environmental Justice (mappingforej.studentorg.berkeley.edu)
This project at UC Berkeley creates publicly available maps that visualize the intersection of environmental, social, and health impacts on communities.
EJ Atlas (ejatlas.org)
The Global Atlas of Environmental Justice documents and maps cases of environmental injustice around the world, providing a platform for sharing knowledge and raising awareness.
EnviroAtlas epa.gov/enviroatlas
The U.S. EPA's EnviroAtlas provides interactive maps and data on ecosystem services and their relationship to human well-being.
Map My Environment (mapmyenvironment.com)
This platform focuses on urban environmental health, visualizing pollution data and empowering communities to take action.
Mapping the Future Teaching Set
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19mmHvRFVxetFxTC4k_9ZTYv23srthsPQkTsqlnSW-mc/edit?usp=sharing Google Document created by author, with supplementary resources – live links for many historic maps and other writings referenced in this unit, Lesson Guide (draft), and photos of many of the hands on activities described in this unit.
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