Broadmoor Mapping

In the summer of 2006, 36 Bard students worked with the Broadmoor Improvement Association to create a comprehensive GIS map detailing the revitalization of the neighborhood. The Bard volunteers collected data and digital photographs on the structural and situational condition of every property in the neighborhood — over 2,400 parcels. The data was then compiled onto a map, offering information at the house, block, and superblock level. Bard students recollected the data in January, '07, and the two sets of information are now being used by the neighborhood association to provide a clear picture of what areas are progressing, regressing, or stagnant — as well invaluable indicators as to the causes of these processes. In addition to regularly updating the Broadmoor data, Bard has been active in advising other neighborhood groups and community organizations on their own data collection projects. Working with Columbia University's Spatial Information Design Lab, Bard produced and distributed a guidebook for community mapping projects in the context of post-Katrina New Orleans.