By Jamie Jordan

My introduction to the Reese Street Mapping project was through an email I received from Dr. Shannon in April 2024 in which he sought undergraduate researchers to work on an ongoing effort to visualize and assist in the development of a narrative of Athens’ historic Black Reese Street neighborhood. I had just accepted an internship to work over the summer for the Carl Vinson Institute of Government’s Workforce and Economic Development division, located in the Lucy Cobb Building at the intersection of Reese Street and Milledge Avenue. While I was initially keen to get involved with any ongoing CURO project with the Community Mapping Lab (CML), this connection made me more excited about the prospect of learning more about this community in particular. Additionally. I had a friend who lived off Chase Street who told me about a nearby fraternity house, whose presence contributed to a tumultuous dynamic between generational locals and students. Cursory research revealed a fascinating, frustrating history of the frat’s role in creating a sort of student-driven gentrification in the community. This further piqued my interest in the Reese Street Mapping project. Although I failed to receive a CURO grant after applying over the summer of 2024, I managed to secure one upon reapplying in December.
           
In January 2025, I was thrilled to learn that I would be working alongside another undergraduate student, Jessica, on the Reese Street project, which enabled us to hone our mixed methods approach by divvying the work such that I focused primarily on the quantitative parts while Jessica explored the neighborhood more qualitatively. Our earliest tasks involved priming ourselves with a better understanding of the neighborhood, which we achieved through analysis of Amy Andrews’ thesis, “Reese Street’s Last Stand: An African American Local Historic District’s Fight to Retain Community and Identity.” Her thorough research laid the groundwork for our subsequent investigations, providing detailed insights into the history of change in the dynamic neighborhood. It also served to further contextualize the importance of our effort to showcase the evolution of the area and inspired us to think more critically about what our deliverable should look like.
           
In an early meeting with our partners at Historic Athens, including Hope Iglehart (a lifelong, generational Reese Street resident) and Denise Sunta, we discussed various possibilities of the most appropriate format for showcasing the narrative of change in the community. We explored several differently structured StoryMaps and collectively favored the idea of presenting multiple distinct time periods such that we could more clearly contrast a given era against another– this framework was loosely based on an exhibit in New York City’s Tenement Museum, which immerses guests into various temporal landscapes.

Due to the accessibility of census data, combined with the CML’s previous and ongoing research using the 1958 directory, we decided to begin by exploring the 1926-1927 and 1958 Athens city directories.
Jessica and I cleaned spreadsheets of census data using Google Sheets, which involved both basic quality control and identifying which Black residents lived within the geographic scope of the Reese Street neighborhood in a given time period– we then visualized where residents lived in 1958 in QGIS. This was especially tedious– involving some manual cross-referencing with data from Athens-Clarke County Open Data, which has contemporary shapefile boundaries of local historic districts– as well as Amy Andrews’ thesis, which details the expansion of the community’s geography over time. Despite these highly convenient sources, I learned through this process that outlining the boundary of a neighborhood is often a difficult and intensive challenge since communities are so geographically nebulous.

Later, I scrubbed data for the 1926-’27 city directory in preparation for its geocoding, such that we could visualize the residential occupancy of the Reese Street neighborhood for this time period. Upon geocoding in ArcGIS Pro, we produced a map that outlined where Reese Street residents lived in the mid-’20s and what their professions were, with a significant amount of confidence in its accuracy. By geocoding the census data from both this directory and the ‘58 directory, we were able to generate a “Web Experience” on ArcGIS Online (see Figure 1) which allows for convenient toggling between the two eras, enabling audiences to more easily visualize the expansion of the neighborhood over time.

Perhaps my foremost takeaway from this project has been an appreciation for the importance of pivoting and adjusting expectations when constrained by time. In our first meeting with Historic Athens, we set ambitious goals for the deliverable, discussing the possibilities of oral history efforts and more greatly implementing descendants of Reese Street residents into the StoryMap, but had to iteratively take a step back and reassess to determine what we could feasibly produce by the end of the semester that would be of good quality. One skill I honed through working on this project was data prepping for geocoding– I have learned through some of the relatively tedious scrubbing work I did mid-semester that even seemingly basic QCing requires significant patience and attention to detail. It was a privilege to work on the Reese Street Mapping Project this semester and I look forward to seeing how future CURO researchers with the CML further innovatively flesh out this important story using the structure Jessica and I developed.

By Maya Lee, CML CURO Student

This spring semester, I worked with Vanessa Raditz from the UGA Institute of Women’s Studies to continue their work on Queer Climate Justice. We built on an existing map that Vanessa created last semester with the help of other undergraduate researchers. This map combined multiple variables related to disaster risk for LGBTQ+ people and created a visual that highlighted areas where queer and trans communities are in urgent need of investment for disaster preparedness and response. You can view the StoryMap and read more about the project here.

My work with Vanessa this semester included adding layers to the map that show projected future conditions in these high-risk areas for queer and trans communities. Before mapping, we researched climate modeling to determine which models and types of data would be most appropriate. Once we had a better understanding of climate models, along with their vocabulary and acronyms, we investigated critiques and limitations of climate modeling, including how bias corrections are done. After this, we began searching for the data needed for the new map layers. After meeting with Dr. Anna Harper from the Geography Department, we decided to use data from the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) for a 2°C (3.6°F) global warming scenario. From this dataset, we selected ten of the fifteen available variables.

The previous map included a Cumulative Risk Index that combined FEMA’s National Risk Index data with information about where LGBTQ+ people live and the laws that affect them. This generated a single number that made the data easier to visualize. For the updated map, this index was revised and expanded into five distinct indexes, providing a more comprehensive view of climate-related risk and LGBTQ+ exposure:

1. Current Hazards Index: This is the average of the Z-scores from the FEMA National Risk Index data. It shows present-day climate and natural hazard risks across the U.S., such as floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and other disasters.
2. Future Hazards Index: This is the average of the Z-scores from the NCA5 (Fifth National Climate Assessment) data, which projects climate hazards under a scenario where global warming reaches 2°C. This helps identify regions that will likely become more dangerous over time due to climate change.
3. Vulnerability Index: This combines social vulnerability and policy data, using the average of the Z-scores from:
   1. SOVI (Social Vulnerability Index): Measures a community's ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.
   2. SO Policy Score: Reflects how state policies affect sexual orientation rights.
   3. GI Policy Score: Reflects how state policies affect gender identity rights.
4. Exposure Index: This is the average of the Z-scores for four key metrics that reflect how LGBTQ+ people are specifically exposed to climate risks:
   1. Percent of the state population who are queer.
   2. Percent of the state population who are trans.
   3. Percent of the displaced population who are queer.
   4. Percent of the displaced population who are trans.
5. Cumulative Risk Index: This final number is the average of the four other indexes listed above. It provides an overall summary that captures how each state scores in terms of climate hazard, vulnerability, exposure, and future risk, all through a lens that includes LGBTQ+ populations and policy environments.

The final outcome of our work this semester was an updated map that includes these five indexes, raw data from FEMA’s National Risk Index, the ten selected NCA5 variables, and five additional layers showing the locations of fossil fuel power plants and pipelines.

Through this project, I gained valuable experience with the mapping process. From researching and gathering data to cleaning and visualizing it using mapping tools such as ArcGIS Online, I was able to strengthen these skills and my familiarity with the entire workflow. Although I had a little prior experience, I now feel much more confident using the system.

Finally, I gained experience working in a research setting with people outside a typical class structure.
This was also my first time working directly with department staff outside of a class or club. It was an incredibly useful experience that helped me improve my time management, communication, and problem-solving skills. It also helped me build connections within the Geography Department and the Community Mapping Lab—connections that I know will continue to be valuable. Being introduced to the CML group has been especially meaningful, as I’ve learned about other projects, new connections, and ongoing work.

Overall, this research project has been crucial for my skill development. I have enjoyed working on it, conducting research, and creating something meaningful for an important cause. This experience will continue to support my growth as I move forward in school and beyond.

By Jessica Muniz

I'm a first-year student who spent the Spring 2025 semester conducting research in the University of Georgia's Community Mapping Lab (CML). My research focuses on creating a digital walking tour of the Reese Street Neighborhood, a historically Black neighborhood in Athens, Georgia, during the period of the 1950s. The project's objective is to assist the community with learning and remembering the neighborhood's history, especially the local youth.

After my acceptance to UGA, I was offered a CURO Honors Scholar scholarship. This fancy title means that I am in a four-year cohort, and we all conduct research on absolutely anything we choose. After taking Dr. Hysjulien's Introduction to GIS class, I instantly grew a passion, so I knew a research project with GIS would be a great idea. Shortly after the class, Dr. Shannon, the professor, Amber, the graduate researcher, and Jamie, my research partner, welcomed me into the lab with open arms.
           
In my first few weeks of researching, I read a graduate thesis by Ms. Amy Andrews. The thesis provided a good background of the Reese Street Neighborhood, allowing me to understand my future tasks. Next, I was given a huge spreadsheet that was a digitized version of the 1958 Athen's directory. My task was to compare the data in the spreadsheet to the original directory and ensure the data was accurate. We also started meeting with Historic Athens, a community partner, to discuss the semester's timeline and new ideas. I truly appreciated Dr. Shannon and Amber for always taking the time and providing instructions, especially when furthering my GIS skills.
           
As the semester progressed, my research role turned more qualitative than quantitative, meaning I dealt with more words than numbers. My new task was to do genealogy research on certain people and places. Simply, I had to learn as much as possible about certain people from historical records, newspapers, and images. In this process, I found a rhythm sifting through the websites Ancestry, FamilySearch, and Georgia Historic Newspapers. I also learned how to retrieve archival documents and images from the University of Georgia's Special Collections Library. Our meetings with Historic Athens and other researchers were essential in filling in the gaps or finding mistakes that I had found or made along the way.
           
Towards the end of the semester, my research partner, Jamie, and I presented at an undergraduate research conference called the CURO Symposium. Previously, I had presented on mini-research projects in Georgia 4-H, but no presentation was to the degree of undergraduate research. Indeed, I was nervous, hoping that my presentation skills would shine, and that I would not stutter. Nevertheless, Jamie and I had an amazing presentation, and the audience asked multiple questions, only growing my confidence. As the semester has come to an end, I am currently polishing the last edits of the 1958 walking tour.
           
On a final note, I have learned numerous lessons and skills this semester, but I will spare you the time and speak only of two. As I have stated countless times, I learned how to conduct genealogy and archival research, but these skills hit "very close to home." My mom's side of the family has lived in the Starr's Mill, Georgia area for many years. I have always wondered about our family history spanning to the days of slavery, as my mom's side of the family is African American. Now, through the mentorship and training of Dr. Shannon and Amber, I can trace my family history, and hopefully, create a website or walking tour of my own to teach my family about our history. Secondly, I learned the importance of resilience. As a freshman, college was a crazy adjustment, especially academically. The research lab allowed me to fail and try again. In fact, many of my facts would be slightly off, or I would have an incorrect picture. Nevertheless, everyone supported me, and I would, simply, try again. Truly, I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked in the Community Mapping Lab, and I cannot wait to see the future growth of the Reese Street Neighborhood project!