Community mapping carries great potential for interaction with people of all ages. A Charleston, SC teacher suggested to his students that they survey a 10-block area near their downtown school. After counting and mapping 45 abandoned lots and dilapidated buildings, they drew up a survey and interviewed 50 residents of varying ages to seek recommendations for ways to improve the neighborhood. The students presented their findings to the City Council. This exchange resulted in the demolition of several hazardous buildings and stricter enforcement codes. The next year the teacher’s new students continued to pursue neighborhood revitlaization with an inter-agency group of city planners.

The above is one of several intergenerational programs featured in the Constitutional Rights Foundation Network magazine, Winter 2001. Written by Wendy Schaetzel Lesko