Overlooked People, Erased Places: Gullah/Geechee Mapping Project

Introduction

Historically, the taking of land is usually perpetrated by those in power onto those with less power. Through this top-down process of taking, people were stripped of land that has cultural, economic and environmental value. To quantify and qualify this value, communities need to be able to document the land they currently possess, as well as the land taken.

While the call to action may be straightforward, the task itself is more difficult; people and communities who have land taken from them may not have the resources to formally prove what is theirs. Requesting formal land surveys, procuring certain documents, or entering legal battles can be costly endeavors.

To empower communities and the people who have had their land taken, LISC Jacksonville and its partners, including the LISC National Knowledge Management and Strategy team, investigated how a Participatory Geographic Information System approach could answer the following question: “How can Geospatial technology benefit communities who are uncertain of the land they own?” On a more specific level, the team was curious, “how GIS tools can help enhance stewardship, and help detail the bounds of lands?”

Methods

In order to help communities document changes in land boundaries, the team used ArcGIS software to clearly visualize the lands they own. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a database that allows users to manage, analyze and display spatial data. To display spatial data, GIS employs a geographic reference system and attaches data to this spatial system. In this use case, the technology allowed the team to pull various types of documents into an easy-to-understand map. For this analysis, the team relied on legal records (deeds, land surveys, etc.) that show parcels owned by a Gullah/Geechee family, and government documents (eminent domain documentation, right-of-way diagrams, etc.).

However, there are also other records that show land ownership and show how land parcels may have been altered over time. While many of the individual documents used depict parcels owned by this Gullah/Geechee family, no singular document shows the full picture: each document is limited by its purpose. For instance, a land survey from 1957 was intended to depict the land described in a deed book. Given this, the survey shows each parcel, lists the metes and bounds, and notes the roadways as they were in 1957. Its purpose was to show the deed book land and does not include important context of the surrounding area. In order to visualize these lands in a meaningful and easy to understand way, it is important to have multiple documents and be able to weave these documents in ArcGIS.

An example of this weaving would be the process to depict parcels and roadways. To visualize parcels, the team used metes and bounds from a deed or land survey. From these documents, the team pulled the starting point of a parcel and located this point in ArcGIS, and then followed the metes and bounds, from the documents, to complete the parcel in ArcGIS. While completing this process in ArcGIS, the team accounted for differences in the geographic grid and the ground to ensure the map is as accurate as possible.

When thinking about the specific question the team posed, “how can GIS help steward land” for future and current generations, it’s important to know the specific bounds of the lands and how parcels and boundaries have changed. As previously stated, land is often taken from communities and knowing exact boundaries can be difficult. An example of this is when land is taken to construct a highway. To depict how a right-of-way changes a parcel, the team first figured out the starting point for the roadway, using a right-of-way diagram, and located this point in ArcGIS. Then, it followed the directional bearings of the roadway until its completion. After this, areas where there is overlap between the right-of-way and parcels were analyzed. Through the use of an eminent domain document, the team checked for differences between the area depicted in the maps and the area spelled out in the document.

Results

Through ArcGIS technology and extensive documentation, this collaborative effort showed how geospatial technology can benefit communities. For this analysis, the team visualized Gullah/Geechee lands and how the boundaries have changed over time. ArcGIS enabled the creation of maps that clearly depict the land as it once was, in a contemporary context, then how the boundaries exist today. This can clearly be seen in the images below. In Image 1, a land survey from 1957 shows a family’s land in its entirety. While Image 1 provides a clue of the shape of the land, number of parcels, and area, it lacks contemporary context – an aspect that was added in ArcGIS.

Image 1: Land Survey from 1957

In Image 2, this same survey is shown overlaid on top of a terrain map of the same land. In addition, ArcGIS helped transform words from deeds into parcels depicted on a terrain map.

Image 2: Land Survey, Georeferenced

Image 3 includes the description of land from a deed; meanwhile, Image 4 shows this same described land on a terrain map.

Image 3: Family Deed

Image 4: Family Property 

Using ArcGIS, the team was able to show the lands taken and how the current property changed due to highway construction. Image 5 shows the current property with an overlay that highlights lands taken by the Department of Transportation.

Image 5: Family Property with Department of Transportation taking overlaid

Way Forward

Through this extensive analysis, the team showed the immense value that GIS software tools has in democratizing parcel data in ways that can empower people and communities to advocate for their interest at all levels of land use planning and development system. This collaborative effort’s aim is to support people who want to stay where they are and help them enjoy a better quality of life in a community that honors them, and this effort has provoked important ideas about how emerging GIS data mapping practices can serve as a source of healing and strengthening through shared understanding of the impact of land takings.

Following are several key insights for consideration:

1. In this type of parcel mapping project, exact measurements and bearings matter. When using maps from the Tax Appraiser’s office, parcels and assessments are displayed without specific metes and bounds; this makes it difficult to accurately visualize properties. That information – the bearings and meters – are found in deeds and land survey maps. The Tax Appraiser’s office documents display land ownership and assessment values rather than exact metes and bounds/dimensions of properties (it does include property length and width but lacks directional attributes). Given this, the tax appraisal site could be helpful to compare the area from original deeds to the area stored at the Tax Appraiser’s office, or to see how the records have parcels split up.

Recommendation: Use the Tax Appraiser’s office as checking documentation rather than parcel construction.

2. When using Right-of-Way (ROW) diagrams from the government, it’s important to note the intention of these documents – to show the right-of-way for planning purposes. These documents are not intended to accurately show the housing or structures that are adjacent to it. By solely using a ROW diagram to map a parcel, one may miss the “before” picture of how parcels looked before the government takes this land for the roadway.

Recommendation: Use a ROW diagram in tandem with other supplemental documentation that shows parcels.