AbstractUsing GIS to Foster Community Involvement with High School Students Track: Community Projects and Partnerships Author(s): Meredith Phillips At the Academy of Urban Planning (AUP) in Bushwick, Brooklyn, a theme-based curriculum taps into students’ curiosity about their community while moving them toward higher education and the skills required by modern careers. Through unique partnerships with community organizations, planning agencies, and institutions of higher learning, students are learning how GIS is used as a tool for community decision making and policy formation. As part of the Community Information Technology Initiative, a partnership between the Planning Center of the Municipal Art Society and Brooklyn Center for the Urban Environment, every student is trained to use IMS mapping tools, leading to internships at local community boards as “map technicians.” In an 11th grade GIS elective, students are involved in an advocacy project with the New York Immigration Coalition to improve neighborhood housing conditions. In 2006, AUP will implement a scaffolded four-year program that incorporates GIS projects in all subject areas. Meredith Phillips Academy of Urban Planning 400 Irving Avenue, Room 508 Brooklyn, NY 11237 US Phone: 718-381-7100 E-mail: meredith@aupnyc.org |