If you need inspiration on how community mapping can be used to promote community revitalization, look no further. In this section, we will tell you how others have used community mapping to support positive change in their communities. As the Datahouse matures, we hope to add success stories from Oakland groups to this section.

• Documenting the Relationship Between Vacant Land and Crime in Camden, New Jersey
• More success stories to come (click here to tell us yours)

Success Story: Documenting the Relationship Between Vacant Land and Crime in Camden, New Jersey

In the mid-1990s, a surge of concern over the spread of vacant and abandoned housing units arose in Camden, NJ. Residents believed that the deteriorated housing conditions created an environment conducive to crime.

In response to their concern, a local interdenominational church federation, Camden Churches Organized for People (CCOP) linked up with a research institution, the Center for Social and Community Development at Rutgers University, to map the blocks with high housing vacancy rates in one layer and the point locations of crimes in another layer. Overlaying the layers illustrated the relationships between vacancy rates and criminal activity. Crime rates in blocks with vacancy rates greater than or equal to 20 percent were 3.5 times higher that in blocks with vacancy rates less than 10 percent. The data confirmed residentsâ suspicions that the phenomena were linked.

The maps generated media attention that heightened public interest in the issue and spurred a larger effort to collect more timely data on vacancies. The Rutgers group compiled a comprehensive database on vacant properties and analyzed where the vacancies were located in relation to sensitive facilities such as schools, day care centers and churches. From this analysis, they created a prioritized list of buildings that should be rehabilitated and/or demolished

As a result of this work, by January of 1997, Camden city agencies had sealed 393 units and demolished 30 units. The City applied $300,000 of Community Development Block Grant Funds to the seal-ups, and the state provided $2.5 million toward the demolitions. CCOP continues to use GIS technology to monitor and analyze progress on its community revitalization campaign.

Source: Stories: Using Information in Community Building and Local Policy. National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership Report. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, March 1999. The National Neighborhood Indicator Partnership website contains additional sample stories and a link to the report in .pdf format.

Tell us your story! Click here to let us know how you have used data to create social change in your community.