Community-mapping textbook & course
Community Mapping: A Free Textbook and Course on Asset-Based Mapping
Community Mapping is a free, in-browser textbook and course on how communities map themselves — their assets, needs, and relationships — in a way that is participatory and ethical. It is built on a simple idea: mapping is not outsiders studying a community, it is helping a community see itself more clearly and decide what to do next.
Open Community MappingWhat Community Mapping is
Community Mapping is a structured body of knowledge presented in companion formats: a long-form textbook organised into parts and chapters, a multi-week course built around a real community capstone project, and a knowledgebase of methods, templates, and definitions you can dip into as reference. The same research underpins all three — you read for depth, follow a curriculum, or look something up, depending on what you need.
It runs in your browser as a Learning tile on map.ca, with nothing to install. A built-in speed reader helps you move through dense chapters, and your reading progress is saved so you can pick up where you left off.
Who it is for
Students and practitioners in urban planning, public health, social work, and community development; civic leaders and community organisers; and Indigenous and other communities mapping their own assets and territories on their own terms. It also serves self-directed learners who simply want to understand the field.
No prior background is assumed — the textbook starts from first principles (what we mean by place, community, and assets) before moving into methods, technology, ethics, analysis, and applications.
What it teaches
The through-line is asset-based, participatory practice: start with what a community has — its people, institutions, physical spaces, and economy — not only what it lacks, and let the people affected do the mapping rather than having categories imposed from outside. From there it covers research methods (interviews, surveys, participatory approaches), spatial analysis and GIS fundamentals, and how to turn data into decisions.
Crucially, it treats ethics and power as central, not an afterthought: who decides what counts as an asset, whose voice is heard, and — especially — who owns the data and controls how it is shared, including Indigenous data sovereignty. The course then asks you to apply all of it to a real community of your choice.
How to use Community Mapping
- Open Community Mapping. Launch the Community Mapping Learning tile on map.ca — it opens in your browser with nothing to install.
- Choose a path. Read the textbook for depth, follow the course for a structured journey, or search the knowledgebase for a specific method or definition.
- Start at the foundations. Begin with what place, community, and assets mean before moving into methods, technology, ethics, and analysis.
- Use the speed reader for dense chapters. Turn on the built-in reader to move through long sections at your own pace; your progress is saved.
- Apply it to a real community. Take the course capstone: pick a community, map its assets and needs with the methods and templates, and keep ethics and ownership front and centre.
Frequently asked questions
Is Community Mapping free, and is it a mapping tool?
It is free and runs in your browser on map.ca with nothing to install. It is a textbook and course that teaches how to do community mapping — the actual mapping you do in the field with your community and the tools that fit it, by design.
What is community mapping, really?
A map shows where things are; community mapping is about who does the mapping, whose knowledge counts, and what the community does with it afterward. It is a participatory process where a community defines its own assets and needs rather than an outside expert.
Why “asset-based” if my community has real problems?
Asset-based does not mean ignoring problems — it means starting from what works and who can help. A community facing a housing shortage also has builders, organisers, and institutions, and those assets are the means to address the gap.
If a community maps itself, who owns the data?
Ethics and ownership are a core part of the curriculum. The guiding principle is that the community owns its data and controls what is shared and with whom — the difference between extractive research and genuine partnership, including Indigenous data sovereignty.
How is the material organised?
As companion formats sharing one body of research: a chaptered textbook for depth, a multi-week course with a real community capstone, and a knowledgebase of methods, templates, and definitions for quick reference.