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Hear Hear! Thank you Neil and Adam for your thoughtful and enlightening comments.

-- Pete

________________________________
From: Northeast Arc Users Group <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of MacGaffey, Neil (MASSIT) <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 5:01 PM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Awareness on GIS Day




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Thank you, Adam, for the thoughts below. As "mappers" we should definitely be mindful of ethics as we make maps. Thank you also for the link to the the very interesting work being done at the University of Richmond; it was really interesting to see how they've used mapping to show the extent and details of redlining in urban areas across the country.  Another area of systemic discrimination was writing racist constraints into property deeds. This happened all across the country, including in the Boston area. I've recently become aware of work by a multi-disciplinary team at the University of Minnesota that used mapping to show how racially restrictive property deeds increased over time in Hennepin County.

https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmappingprejudice.umn.edu%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211838033%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=2SFbdZfz8cDPHU39KPKRQanvRQgmJtAQR9q8cO56JVc%3D&amp;reserved=0<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmappingprejudice.umn.edu%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211838033%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=2SFbdZfz8cDPHU39KPKRQanvRQgmJtAQR9q8cO56JVc%3D&amp;reserved=0>

Finally, I was fortunate to have recommended to me an excellent and readable book on the subject of institutionalized prejudice by government in the US is Richard Rothstein's 2017 book "the Color of Law: A forgotten history of how our government segregated America"; it covers not only redlining (done by banks, but aided by municipal zoning laws and, therefore, maps), but also discrimination in public housing, property ownership, property taking for interstate highway construction, and employment.


Neil MacGaffey | Director, MassGIS
1 Ashburton Place, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02108
Executive Office of Technology and Security Services
We provide secure and quality digital information, services, and tools
617-619-5641 | [log in to unmask] | twitter: @macgaffeyn


Board of Directors, National States Geographic Information Council

________________________________
From: Northeast Arc Users Group <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Adam Kurowski <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 3:51 PM
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Awareness on GIS Day

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As part of a broader personal mission to raise awareness in myself and others around the topics of racism, privilege, bias, and ethics, I am offering this post, in what may become a series of geography related posts. On GIS Day 2020, I'm choosing to push into my fear of how this will be received.  If you have any feedback, positive or negative, please share it with me.

As Geographers and map makers from various backgrounds, on different journeys, and with a wide range of experiences, I hope we can all think a moment about geography and cartography ethics and the intended and unintended impacts of our maps. URISA has a great Code of Ethics<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Fwww.urisa.org-252Fabout-2Dus-252Fgis-2Dcode-2Dof-2Dethics-26data-3D04-257C01-257CNEARC-2DL-2540LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU-257C4cd1fd7e95c64f3595d708d88c03c4b5-257C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080-257C0-257C0-257C637413295105726714-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C1000-26sdata-3D8-252BKDwaZr7ng0p1ffJrfBUSy-252BEnLxBNxFTm-252BS-252F1PY224-253D-26reserved-3D0%26d%3DDwMFAg%26c%3DlDF7oMaPKXpkYvev9V-fVahWL0QWnGCCAfCDz1Bns_w%26r%3DvjcIzTRdeCOLjqohsr8Yyudpnl72ClEXw-5U8tLm2_U%26m%3DLr3PHHo3LzM1qpQCK28pSyH2uhNKHqRMC7HuFNWvksc%26s%3DJVOgiYVp6fRL28tn7ZWaG6QDfIyfoAOc_GyWof4qwsc%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211838033%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=ce2%2F%2FRcNpc%2FvcLWkBlhGp1ZQnBW%2BO0vpl5bO%2Bg%2Fs1wY%3D&amp;reserved=0> page, which urges us to "make appropriate and ethical choices".

Maps are powerful. Maps are tools for sharing, influencing, defining, categorizing, quantifying, and so much more.  Maps influence policy, voice, affiliation, identity, value, funding, and maybe most importantly, maps influence humans and human thought.  Please take a moment to reflect on this and the possible impact of your work on others.

In this offering, I challenge you to set aside 20 minutes in your day, today or another day to read and reflect on this post.  Despite feeling too busy, I know you can do this, for yourself, but also for those who may be impacted by your decisions and your maps.

I'd like to raise awareness for anyone who may be faced with a challenging mapping request.  One that may seem just and sanctioned, but also in some way may feel odd. If it feels odd, then it may be. In this instance check the URISA ethics, your own personal ethics, or those of a trusted person in this field. You can make a difference in ensuring that your maps remain ethical to all.

We, this group of map makers, must be aware of historic mapping decisions, in order to understand how our decisions and maps may impact the world.  Join me in exploring, just one event in the history of mapping, that changed the face of American cities and deeply impacted its people.  This event is often referred to as, "redlining."  However, it is much deeper than that.  As much as redlining resulted in oppression, disadvantage, and lack of opportunity, "green and blue lining" as resulted in privilege, advantage, and opportunities at wealth creation.  I'll allow you to make your own judgement about the ethics of this mapping effort.  Being honest, I only learned about redlining earlier this year, so if you are hearing about it for the first time, you are not alone and please share your new knowledge with others.

I ask you to consider taking steps to integrate and share these maps and/or data with your audience. I will be collaborating with our Race, Equity, and Leadership working group to discuss the impacts of integrating these map layers into our municipal GIS viewer.

Thank you to the University of Richmond for providing the platform and the heart space to realize the importance of expertly sharing these materials.

Awareness Topic 1: "Redlining"
About the 1930's mapping effort by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdsl.richmond.edu%2Fpanorama%2Fredlining%2F%23loc%3D5%2F39.1%2F-94.58%26text%3Dabout&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211848024%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=FXQ1NuljRy0rqiW8b5Ck6UTBIhpVsTNl1P9m9bkgyQo%3D&amp;reserved=0<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Fdsl.richmond.edu-252Fpanorama-252Fredlining-252F-2523loc-253D5-252F39.1-252F-2D94.58-2526text-253Dabout-26data-3D04-257C01-257CNEARC-2DL-2540LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU-257C4cd1fd7e95c64f3595d708d88c03c4b5-257C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080-257C0-257C0-257C637413295105736706-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C1000-26sdata-3DosyrhgD4FdN4U4DLCJhBxf7Ix1I-252FeWC-252FqraVXQSgUrY-253D-26reserved-3D0%26d%3DDwMFAg%26c%3DlDF7oMaPKXpkYvev9V-fVahWL0QWnGCCAfCDz1Bns_w%26r%3DvjcIzTRdeCOLjqohsr8Yyudpnl72ClEXw-5U8tLm2_U%26m%3DLr3PHHo3LzM1qpQCK28pSyH2uhNKHqRMC7HuFNWvksc%26s%3DMH_aVhkkDNtjnzlV-4N-bGJNF2l2-Jpyu0rwvK10ijg%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211848024%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=%2B0ejRoerDuHtAVDwdZ131QdYYrf78GsZBVkGmF1wRYE%3D&amp;reserved=0>
Explore the maps: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdsl.richmond.edu%2Fpanorama%2Fredlining&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211848024%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=Ak74G7ugz%2FvKAtcihStw32CuSKei4ncRnbGW%2FmfDSaA%3D&amp;reserved=0<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Fdsl.richmond.edu-252Fpanorama-252Fredlining-26data-3D04-257C01-257CNEARC-2DL-2540LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU-257C4cd1fd7e95c64f3595d708d88c03c4b5-257C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080-257C0-257C0-257C637413295105736706-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C1000-26sdata-3DqpP6wShzDI457O7lUeI4uGXjZaw4ERcNDsEy0yr0zzk-253D-26reserved-3D0%26d%3DDwMFAg%26c%3DlDF7oMaPKXpkYvev9V-fVahWL0QWnGCCAfCDz1Bns_w%26r%3DvjcIzTRdeCOLjqohsr8Yyudpnl72ClEXw-5U8tLm2_U%26m%3DLr3PHHo3LzM1qpQCK28pSyH2uhNKHqRMC7HuFNWvksc%26s%3D8B5KoKSr3ItoYFXyaKTG_h6p5oBPZpYVUesQDJrrbTA%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211848024%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=FYr4Odq89MQUakAj9%2FZWqfo%2BIB%2BrpCe6uoEEHmqN7xw%3D&amp;reserved=0>
My LinkedIn Post on this topic: https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fposts%2Fadamkurowski_mapping-inequality-activity-6734853829382213632-JBUP&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211848024%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=iReRwkpa7QqDQhqhPZBeva3WoAICrdRWF%2FzYsdHCzR0%3D&amp;reserved=0<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttps-253A-252F-252Fwww.linkedin.com-252Fposts-252Fadamkurowski-5Fmapping-2Dinequality-2Dactivity-2D6734853829382213632-2DJBUP-26data-3D04-257C01-257CNEARC-2DL-2540LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU-257C4cd1fd7e95c64f3595d708d88c03c4b5-257C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080-257C0-257C0-257C637413295105746710-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C1000-26sdata-3Ds0-252BPwnH-252BpzDm0f-252Fk-252BTvvNQ-252BS7CCG1Ya0fuHcPIfJ-252B30-253D-26reserved-3D0%26d%3DDwMFAg%26c%3DlDF7oMaPKXpkYvev9V-fVahWL0QWnGCCAfCDz1Bns_w%26r%3DvjcIzTRdeCOLjqohsr8Yyudpnl72ClEXw-5U8tLm2_U%26m%3DLr3PHHo3LzM1qpQCK28pSyH2uhNKHqRMC7HuFNWvksc%26s%3DLCw8vy1y0FdoQH1B80BlqZ2c1bOv3edI5JL-WRXi-Bk%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211848024%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=72zNoU1ZewL7ncdrj5jdkb16dwU2TmOinCXGn0ZVK6E%3D&amp;reserved=0>

Sincerely,
Adam Kurowski

-------------------
Adam Kurowski, Director of GIS / Systems Analyst
Town of Arlington
phone: 781-316-3385
email: [log in to unmask]
arlingtonma.gov/maps<https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Furldefense.proofpoint.com%2Fv2%2Furl%3Fu%3Dhttps-3A__nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com_-3Furl-3Dhttp-253A-252F-252Farlingtonma.gov-252Fmaps-26data-3D04-257C01-257CNEARC-2DL-2540LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU-257C4cd1fd7e95c64f3595d708d88c03c4b5-257C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080-257C0-257C0-257C637413295105746710-257CUnknown-257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0-253D-257C1000-26sdata-3D4-252BLHTtxMEtB0X2Kd3x9gc2VLr-252Fun2t2pS-252BUFJpeWSZo-253D-26reserved-3D0%26d%3DDwMFAg%26c%3DlDF7oMaPKXpkYvev9V-fVahWL0QWnGCCAfCDz1Bns_w%26r%3DvjcIzTRdeCOLjqohsr8Yyudpnl72ClEXw-5U8tLm2_U%26m%3DLr3PHHo3LzM1qpQCK28pSyH2uhNKHqRMC7HuFNWvksc%26s%3DtcN22yg63PMyxo7qSForEFP7VyNDNev7vsYR0yguy7A%26e%3D&amp;data=04%7C01%7CNEARC-L%40LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU%7C0c47f3622cd94b344b9008d88c0ebca3%7C17f1a87e2a254eaab9df9d439034b080%7C0%7C0%7C637413342211858021%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=h1cpFek5wXUOYs9I2ABTKZGDgSJSQ6aujNAZMA6vqqQ%3D&amp;reserved=0>

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