Interactive Digital Story Mapping to Document Housing (In)justice through Community-Based Design

Brett Halperin, Human Centered Design & Engineering

In this talk, I will present the community-based design of interactive digital story mapping to document COVID-19 tenant experiences and housing (in)justice information: eviction data, global housing protection legislation, and housing justice actions as part of the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project (AEMP). Since 2013, the AEMP has conducted oral history interviews to amplify tenant voices by collecting and counter-mapping narratives of displacement and resistance. However, with low resources and dependence on in-kind labor, community-based practices such as these move slowly; as volunteers, we struggle to collect, counter-map, and disseminate housing justice information at a pace that can keep up with the rapidly accelerating rates of eviction and harm inflicted on marginalized communities, especially during times of crisis. Thus, to support other social movement organizations in launching digital counter-maps under severe time and resource constraints, I will discuss the community-based design behind our free and open-source system built in response to the COVID-19 housing crisis along with key design considerations, strategies, and lessons learned. By sharing these insights, I aim to offer quick-hand guidance on designing interactive multimedia information systems and geospatial of social change. I also wish to foster collective listening and generative discussion by extending invitations to experience these stories online at: covid19.antievictionmap.com.