Using Maps to Examine Change Over Time in Major Cities

Esri has produced some wonderful resources in their storymaps.  In digging through their examples, I found a few that I loved.  Through using overlayed maps of the past onto a map of the present, students can identify how places have changed over time.  The maps present evidence and students can list the changes that have taken place based on their analysis of the mapping tools.  Great stuff!

• Chicago: 1868 and Today
• Denver: 1879 and Today
• San Francisco: 1859 and Today
• Los Angeles: 1880 and Today
• New York: 1836 and Today
• Washington D.C.: 1851 and Today

Simulation: Village to Industrial Town in 21 Stages

As students look at geographic issues, they identify different types of interactions.  They might look at the interaction between human systems and physical systems (how do physical systems cause people to adapt, how do people impact physical systems).  They might also look at human systems impacting human systems (how do human systems impact other human systems, what happens when one human system impacts another human system).

This simulation (Village to Industrial Town in 21 Stages) allows students to sense how a place changes over time, and how places solve different geographic solve.  In some cases, the solutions create additional geographic issues to try and solve.

While teachers do not have the textbook that's referenced in the simulation, this is a great starting place for examining the change in places over time...and how each change reflects a solution at one moment in time.