Mapping Our Neighborhood

Long Term Residents, small children, business people and community leaders in all neighborhoods have vast knowledge of the community where they live, work, play and serve. Community Improvement plans that take advantage of this information are much more likely to produce positive results than those created by outsiders. This means that neighborhood participation is the most important ingredient for making a successful Community Plan!

During the next thirty minutes, please work in teams of four to identify the MOST IMPORTANT FEATURES of the Lansdowne Community. A University of Illinois student will be available to each group if you need assistance or have any questions about this exercise. After completing this exercise, each group will pick a spokesperson to present your group’s findings. Please use the color markers provided to complete the five following tasks:

1. USING THE BLACK MARKER, Draw the OUTER BOUNDARIES of the Lansdowne neighborhood, where you understand them to be.

2. USING THE BLUE MARKER, Draw the boundaries for any DISTRICTS (for example-industrial areas, shopping strips, church rows, etc). Please CIRCLE and name these districts (if there is a name).

3. BY MAKING AN X WITH THE BROWN MARKER, identify the neighborhood’s most important LOCAL LANDMARKS (for example-historic homes, parks, schools, churches, or monuments).

4. USING THE GREEN MARKER, Label Lansdowne’s most important RESOURCES or ASSETS (for example-open green spaces, successful businesses, social service agencies, housing)

5. USING THE RED MARKER, Label Lansdowne’s biggest PROBLEMS SITES/AREAS (for example-trash, flooding problems, speeding vehicles, high crime activity, illegal dumping)

After each team has completed these tasks, we will come together as a large group, and one person from each small group will share what they accomplished. The University students will consolidate all of this information onto one wall-size map.