Katrina Mapping System Instruction:

Welcome to the Katrina mapping system. These maps were developed by the American Communities Project at Brown University, led by Dr. John Logan. For similar maps of census tract data for the entire nation, see the MapUSA webpage: http://maps.s4.brown.edu/mapusa.

Before you begin, please make sure you are using Internet Explorer higher than 4.7 as your browser and turn off pop-up blockers. The map will be best displayed with a screen resolution of 1024*768 or higher.

On its opening map, this system identifies the broad zones of the three-state region where FEMA was authorized to provide assistance. It also shows in red the more specific areas classified by FEMA as flooded or storm-damaged (moderate to catastrophic levels). Flood areas in New Orleans have been modified based on remote imagery provided by Dartmouth Flood Observatory. At a detailed zoom level, the user can display aerial photographs from early September 2001 that have been made available by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A link from each photo connects to the same location in GoogleMap, which in most cases includes a satellite image of the area from before Katrina.

The web system also displays a wide variety of population characteristics from Census 2000 for census tracts. Within the City of New Orleans, it is also possible to see how census tracts are grouped into neighborhoods by the city for planning purposes. This system also offers the capability to download data for a specific census tract or group of tracts, and to copy the image of any map for use in other applications.

When you enter the system, you will see a 3-state map. You can then use the navigation tools (on the top) to show a smaller area and to move from side to side. Then choose a category of variables and a specific variable to map from the menus on the upper left-hand side of the page.

At a close-in zoom level, you can click on the aerial photos layer box (on the left-hand side) to display black dots in the location of each photograph. Then click on the "HYPERLINK" tool [] and select any point with your cursor. The photograph will open in a new window. Below the map in the original window, the coordinates of the center of the photo are displayed. Click here to link to the same location in GoogleMap.

If you are viewing the City of New Orleans, click on/off the New Orleans Neighborhood layer to see how census tracts are grouped into neighborhoods for planning purposes.

This is a versatile system. The "identify" tool lets you see the exact data for a tract by clicking on the tract. The "select by rectangle" tool allows you to download data about a specific set of tracts. The "query" tool allows you to find tracts that meet specified criteria. With the "print" tool you can create a finished map with a title and legend in a separate window, and you can use browser editing tools to copy it to any application. Use the tutorial to become familiar with these options. A help window is available to explain each tool separately.

Click HERE to enter the system.