The Problem

What isn't documented can't be defended. The Flats holds a 40-year-old Caribbean market, a playground with roots in the 1990s, energy substations serving thousands of residents, and green spaces most people walk past without knowing what they are. When gentrification comes for a neighborhood, it comes for the things nobody wrote down first.

Who It's For

Residents of East Flatbush standing on the sidewalk with a phone — not planners reading a report. That framing set every decision: mobile-first, no login, no jargon, and written so each stop feels like a story you can walk to.

My Role

I contributed the GIS mapping on the Felt platform — adding location data and field notes for infrastructure points across The Flats — and worked directly with Ground3D on map point formatting and description writing. I also researched the role of cooling in the Community Resilience Hub context.

The Finding That Shifted Priorities

Heatstroke is the leading environmental cause of death for New York City seniors. I flagged that as a design priority for the Resilience Hub — it moved cooling and elder access from a nice-to-have to a must-design-for.

Design Decision

Every map point was annotated in full narrative sentences rather than bullets, a decision drawn from studying Ground3D's Roots & Rhythms map. The test was simple: could someone open this on their phone and take a self-guided tour with no explanation from us?

Outcome

The map is live and navigable from any phone, and it anchors the in-person Infrastructure Walking Tour in East Flatbush. Next comes community pact outreach — signing up businesses along the corridor as climate emergency resources for the Flats Rising Communication Strategy with Ground3D and NYC OEM/COAD.