Gowanus Atlas

Gowanus Atlas is an outgrowth of our third competition, Axis Civitas. Cities, and the sub-cities within them, are human constructed ecosystems that are defined as much by their inflows and outflows as by their political boundaries. It is expected that 70% of the world's population will live in urban centers by 2050; this migration is creating pressure to develop city areas that are scarred by 19th and 20th century industry, have insufficient infrastructure, or are at risk with the rapid environmental changes wrought by global warming. To better manage the impact of this rapid population shift and create sustainable cities, urban communities need tools that allow citizens and planners to project the collective social, economic, community, and environmental impact of development as an integral part of the political decision-making process.

The first edition of Gowanus Atlas collects public data sets within the Gowanus Canal watershed, such as infrastructure, land use, flood zones, demographics, Superfund cleanup, etc., that describe how the area’s current conditions impact stakeholders. As it expands into a second edition, we will continue our outreach and add new data sets, such as sensory conditions, air quality, environmental contamination, displacement of affordable retail and youth resources, and access to healthy regional food options. Together with the public data sets, Gowanus Atlas will synthesize the area’s qualitative and quantitative characteristics and visually explain how complex urban, ecological, and sociological conditions define the community. Users can toggle the data sets on and off to curate and create their own maps.

Thus Gowanus Atlas is a portal to the community's story, as told by the community. It is a response to typical top down planning strategies.

As Gowanus Atlas develops over the next few years, it will use state-of-the-art data analytics to visualize the impact of changing conditions over increasing time spans: one year, ten years, fifty years. Not only will it provide a platform for understanding the complexities of a changing urban ecosystem, Gowanus Atlas will offer archival and historical value to the greater community who will be living with this urban regeneration for many years.

The timing of Gowanus Atlas is critical: the Gowanus neighborhood is undergoing rapid changes and will be a very different place once the Superfund cleanup is complete and construction commences after the area is rezoned. The surrounding communities will be heavily impacted by the influx of new residents, businesses, artists, traffic, construction, etc. Each community is grappling to understand how they will be affected - Gowanus Atlas will facilitate a broader understanding of these impacts, their challenges, and the opportunities.

Visit Gowanus Atlas here.