Your Toolbox
Laura Kigin
Department Coordinator
Carnegie Hall, Room 104
651-696-6249
651-696-6116 fax
kigin@macalester.edu
Civic engagement is a multifaceted approach of working for a common good which often results in activities which have a public/civic purpose. Macalester is committed to teaching the skills of citizenship in preparing students to be global citizens in a complex world. Below is a list of civic engagement projects that the Geography Department has participated in. For additional information on the Macalester Community civic engagement efforts, we encourage you to visit the Civic Engagement Center website.
| Date | Project Title and Description |
| 2013 |
Faculty: Laura Smith and Ashley Nepp
Course: Geog 365: Urban GIS
Description: A Spring 2013 collaboration with the Minneapolis Riverfront Partnership to develop and report on a range of economic and social indicators for the Mississippi Riverfront in the City of Minneapolis.
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| 2012 |
Examining Local Housing Markets: Five Twin Cities Neighborhood Profiles |
| 2011 | St. Paul's University Avenue: Before the Central Corridor Faculty: Laura Smith and Dan Trudeau Courses: GEOG 488: Transportation Geography and GEOG 341: Urban Social Geography The year 2011 reflected a unique time in the Twin Cities' transportation history as construction began on the Central Corridor light rail line along University Avenue. Students in the Transportation Geography senior seminar and the Urban Social Geography course produced a baseline atlas of the Avenue as it stood as an automobile-oriented corridor, before its transition to a transit-based corridor. The focus of the atlas is to address the question: What will the transition from an automobile-focused to a transit-based system mean for the urban economic geography and social diversity of the Avenue? |
| 2010 | Mapping Indian Land Tenure in Minnesota Faculty: Holly Barcus and Laura Smith Course: GEOG 364 GIS: Concepts and Applications and 365 Urban GIS During the fall of 2010, students in the advanced GIS classes partnered with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) to examine issues of American Indian land tenure in Minnesota using GIS techniques. This mapping project was undertaken to help further ILTF's vision of collecting information on Indian land tenure on a local, regional, and national basis and making it publically available in a way that is consistent with the protocols and priorities of Indian nations. The students gathered information from a variety of sources, including tribal and local government offices, with the aim of documenting land tenure status within Minnesota's Indian reservations and analyzing relationships between land tenure status and other social and economic variables |
On going |
Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education Faculty: David Lanegran This program provides support for teachers and students in Minnesota’s public schools promoting geographic knowledge through workshops and conferences and classroom experiences. Recently, several new ventures began, focusing on conservation of the environment and stewardship of natural resources. |
| 2009 | Changing Conditions and Neighborhood Stabilization in North Minneapolis Neighborhoods Faculty: Laura Smith Course: GEOG 365 Urban GIS The Ordway Digital Database [Final Report] Faculty: Holly Barcus Course: GEOG364 GIS: Concepts and Applications (Fall 2009) Description: A digital database developed for the Katherine Ordway Natural History Study Area in collaboration with the Macalester Environmental Sciences department. |
| 2008 | Saint Paul Recreation Centers [Final Report] [Presentation] [Maps (color)] [Maps (b/w)] Faculty: Holly Barcus Course: GEOG 364 GIS: Concepts and Applications (Fall 2008) Description: A Fall 2008 collaboration between St. Paul Parks and Recreation, Saint Paul Public Schools, to spatially analyze the distribution and accessibility of student-centered programs and services. Little Earth Oral History Project Faculty: Dan Trudeau Course: GEOG 341 Urban Social Geography Description: Oral history interviews of long-time Native American residents of the Little Earth of United Tribes housing project in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. Examining Spatial Mismatch in the Twin Cities Metro Part I: Extent of Mismatch Part II: Extent of Mismatch continued Part III: Transportation Effects Faculty: Laura Smith Course: GEOG 365 Advanced Cartography & Urban GIS The Crow River Watershed: An Annotated Atlas Part 1 Part 2 Presentation Faculty: David Lanegran, Daniel Trudeau, Holly Barcus, Birgit Muehlenhaus Course(s): GEOG 488 Urban Geography Field Seminar, GEOG 488 Cities of the 21st Century, and GEOG 364 GIS: Concepts and Applications Description: |
| 2007 |
Saint Paul - After School Programs Faculty: Holly Barcus Course: GEOG364: GIS: Concepts and Applications (Spring Semester) Description: Identifying the gaps in after-school program provision, partnership with the City of St Paul Mayor's office and St. Paul Public Schools |
| 2006 |
North Minneapolis: Examining Neighborhood Trends with GIS Introduction and Part I: Mortgage Foreclosures in North Minneapolis Part II: Gentrification in North Minneapolis Part III: Affordable Housing and the Hollman Consent Decree Part IV: An Asset Based Approach to North Minneapolis Faculty: Laura Smith Course: GEOG 365 Advanced Cartography & Urban GIS Description: Bikeways Project Report Presentation Faculty: Holly Barcus Course: GEOG364: GIS: Concepts and Applications (Spring) Description: A Spring 2006 partnership with MnDOT, Met Council, and Land Management Information Center (LMIC) to produce a Bikeways Data Collection Manual for local communities. Lake Street Project Faculty: Holly Barcus Course: GEOG364: GIS: Concepts and Applications (Fall) Description: A Fall 2006 Collaborative Project between Macalester College (multiple classes) and the Minnesota Historical Society to map historical change on Lake Street. The project was displayed at MHS during Fall 2007. The Urbanization of the St. Croix River Basin: An Annotated Atlas Part 1 Part 2 Faculty: David A. Lanegran Course: GEOG 488: Urban Geography Field Seminar |
| 2005 |
PCEC Project Faculty: Holly Barcus Course: GEOG364: GIS: Concepts and Applications (Fall) Description: A Fall 2005 partnership with the Phillips Community Energy Cooperative (PCEC) to pinpoint the location of target populations in the city of Minneapolis who were eligible to receive free, energy-efficient refrigerators and air-conditioning units as part of PCEC program funded through Xcel Energy. |
| 2004 |
Foreclosures in the Twin Cities: Analysis of Spatial Trends Faculty: Laura Smith Course: GEOG 365 Advanced Cartography & Urban GIS Description: |
| 2003 | St. Anthony Park: A Community Built on a Solid Foundation Faculty: David Lanegran Course: GEOG 488 Urban Geography Field Seminar Description: |
| 2002 |
Living Off Campus: Macalester Students in the Neighborhood Chapter 1-Part 1 Chapter 1-Part 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Faculty: Laura Smith and David Lanegran Course(s): GEOG 365 Urban GIS and GEOG 488 Urban Geography Field Seminar Description: |
| 1998 |
Pride and Place: The Strength and Potential of Payne-Arcade Faculty: David Lanegran Course: GEOG 488 Urban Geography Field Seminar Description: |