Developing a Community-Oriented Interactive Mapping Tool for an Environmental Justice Community in Denver, Colorado

Objective: The Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea Community Health Study was a collaborative project between an academic research group and community members engaged in environmental justice work in Denver, CO. As part of our collaborative work, the academic team identified a need for tools that make relevant environment and health data accessible to community members. To this end, the academic and community partners living in 3 heavily burdened neighborhoods in Denver collaborated to co-build an online mapping tool. Methods: We worked collaboratively to develop an online visualization tool that was responsive to community interests and needs. We obtained relevant data on demographic, health, and environment variables within Denver and summarized the data to the neighborhood level to facilitate intraurban comparisons. Residents of the neighborhoods provided feedback on the design, contents, and usability of the tool to ensure it was relevant and accessible to community members. Results: Our interactive, open-source mapping tool facilitates comparisons of key demographic, environmental, and health data at the neighborhood level. Users are able to generate visualizations and download them for their own use. Conclusions: As a result of this collaborative work, our community council expressed feeling validated and highlighted the ease of use relative to other methods for conveying environment and health data. Our use of open-source software ensures that the app can be adapted by other communities interested in visualizing their environmental exposures.