By Natalie Lee

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stephen Hanna

Abstract

In this presentation, I will be sharing my GIS Certificate Capstone Project, which focuses on mapping Black property ownership change throughout the 20th century in Fredericksburg, VA. This project was completed by digitizing tax records and census data from the 1930s, 1960s, and 1990s, and mapping that information using historical tax maps and georeferenced census blocks. For the 1930s and 1960s data, I used the 1930 and 1968 tax maps to locate and map individual properties. For the 1990s data, I georeferenced census block data to visualize property ownership at a broader level. These datasets were then used to create a spatial analysis using the Directional Distribution (Standard Deviational Ellipse) geoprocessing tool. This tool generates ellipses around geographic focal points, making it possible to visually and spatially represent shifts in Black property ownership over time. During my presentation, I will walk through the methodology, mapping process, and key findings from my analysis.

This project is an extension of the Racially Restrictive Covenants research I have been conducting with Professors Krystyn Moon, Stephen Hanna, and Christine Henry. Another student involved in the same research project, Natalie Lee, will also be presenting. If possible, it would be greatly appreciated if we could be scheduled to present back-to-back, preferably, with Natalie presenting first.