Community Resilience through GIS – Deep Mapping in Postindustrial Hamtramck

Dan Trepal, Michigan Technological University
Krysta Ryzewski, Wayne State University
Don Lafreniere, Michigan Technological University
Robert Cowling, Michigan Technological University

The Hamtramck Explorer is a prototype digital atlas developed during the initial phase of the Hamtramck Historic Spatial Archaeology Project, a recent community-based collaboration and collecting initiative focused on Hamtramck, a compact postindustrial urban enclave entirely surrounded by the city of Detroit. The project applies spatial humanities research approaches, particularly deep mapping, for the benefit of the diverse local community in Hamtramck, and the wider general public beyond the city limits. The digital atlas promotes increased participation in local history, archaeology, and historic preservation among a severely disadvantaged city population that continues to struggle with the effects of disinvestment and deindustrialization. The digital, open-access format of the Hamtramck Explorer is aimed at maximizing inclusivity, accessibility, and sustainability. The deep map’s free, web-based format also facilitates participation from a secondary audience: a wider non-resident diaspora of former Hamtramck residents with historical connections to the city. This paper describes the outcomes of our first phase of deep map development and implementation. We also introduce the second phase of the project, which will enhance the prototype deep map with additional datasets and new features that continue to foster public collaboration in the expansion and sustainable maintenance of the project.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 119. NEH Community Deep Mapping Institute 2