From visuals to vision: using GIS to inform civic dialogue about African American males

Abstract

There has been considerable attention in the sociology and public policy literatures to the relationship between spatial arrangements and opportunity structures in metropolitan America. This article attempts to address this issue in the context of Metro St. Louis, Missouri, a center of biotechnology development, where the majority population in St. Louis City is African American. More specifically, it does so by examining extant social science literature related to African American males in urban America. A focus is on highlighting developmental challenges and opportunities for intervention where spatial arrangements are a consideration. Next, it provides an argument that metropolitan regions attempting to intervene would benefit from Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as part of a visual political literacy project aimed to support civic engagement and capacity related to African American male life course development. The metropolitan region of St. Louis is used as a case to illustrate the possibilities of geospatial tools as information sources. The article concludes with a recommendation for greater investment in resources to support sustained community‐based research designed to inform understandings of geospatial arrangements that are linked to social disparities.