Map Your Neighborhood

What it is

A structured 2- to 3-hour neighborhood meeting that produces a simple map of skills, resources, and vulnerabilities on your block. Originally developed for earthquake preparedness in the Pacific Northwest, the practice has spread to fire-prone, flood-prone, hurricane-prone, and heat-prone neighborhoods.

The map is what produces value during a disaster. The relationships built while making the map are what produce value for everything else.

Why it works

In the first hours and days after a major disaster, official responders are not coming. Neighbors are the first responders. The neighborhoods that recover fastest are the ones where neighbors already know who has medical training, who has water, who has a generator, who needs help, and where everyone is.

You cannot build that knowledge under crisis. You can only build it before.

What you need

• Time: 2 to 3 hours per session. Optional follow-up sessions.
• People: 15 to 20 households per project. 1 to 3 core organizers.
• Space: Community center, library, church, park, or someone's living room.
• Materials: Simple forms or maps, contact list templates, flip charts.
• Skills: Basic facilitation. Comfort with people talking about their vulnerabilities.
• Energy level: Moderate.

How to host it

1. Contact your local fire department or emergency management agency. Most cities have a neighborhood mapping program with materials, forms, and sometimes a facilitator. Use it. The forms are well-designed and free.
2. Invite 15 to 20 households on your block. Personal invitations work best. A flyer drop alone usually gets a thin response. Combine with a [block party](../01-knowing-your-neighbors/block-party.md) or [porch conversations](../01-knowing-your-neighbors/porch-conversations.md) for warmth.
3. Hold the meeting. Walk through:

• What emergencies could affect your area (geographic and seasonal: earthquake, fire, flood, ice storm, heat wave).
• What each household can provide: medical skills, tools, generator, water, food storage, emergency radio, transportation.
• What each household might need: mobility help, language support, medical equipment, child or pet care.
• Where vulnerable neighbors live: elders alone, people with disabilities, families with young children.

1. Make the map. A physical drawing or printed map of the block. Mark each household. Note skills and needs (with consent). The map is not for sharing publicly; it's for the participants.
2. Identify a meeting place. Where to gather if phones don't work and homes are damaged. A specific corner, a park, a school yard.
3. Identify a comms plan. Who has a battery radio. Who has a backup generator. What's the plan if cell networks are down (often: walk to the meeting place and check in).
4. Identify a basic supply pool. Some neighborhoods designate one household that stores extra water, first aid, and tools for the group. Others have each household maintain their own.
5. Hold a follow-up. Three to six months later. What's changed? Who's moved in? Who's moved out? Refresh the map.

Variations

Apartment building version. A single building or complex rather than a block. Often run by a tenant association.

Faith community version. A congregation maps its members across geography, especially for elders.

Block-level version. A more thorough version with first-aid training, supply drills, and an annual neighborhood emergency exercise. See CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training for a deeper structure.

Mutual aid pod overlap. The map produced here often becomes the seed of a [Mutual Aid Pod](../02-small-groups-for-support/mutual-aid-pod.md). The two recipes pair naturally.

Stories from neighborhoods

San Francisco NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team) has trained thousands of neighbors since the 1990s. A Marina District neighborhood did the mapping work in summer 2018. When an earthquake hit in 2022, neighbors responded immediately: they knew Mr. Chen used a walker and needed assistance, the Garcia family had medical training, and two homes had generators and stored water. The group quickly coordinated, treated minor injuries, and shared supplies while waiting for responders.

Afterward, the neighbors said something common to communities that have done this work: the preparation had also created lasting friendship and cohesion, separate from the emergency.

Where to learn more

• A model program: San Francisco NERT: Map Your Neighborhood
• For deeper training: CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams)
• Adjacent recipes: [Mutual Aid Pod](../02-small-groups-for-support/mutual-aid-pod.md), [Block Stewards](../01-knowing-your-neighbors/block-stewards.md), [Resilience Hub](./resilience-hub.md)

Details

• steps: **Contact your local fire department or emergency management agency.** Most cities have a neighborhood mapping program with materials, forms, and sometimes a facilitator. Use it. The forms are well-designed and free., **Invite 15 to 20 households on your block.** Personal invitations work best. A flyer drop alone usually gets a thin response. Combine with a [block party](../01-knowing-your-neighbors/block-party.md) or [porch conversations](../01-knowing-your-neighbors/porch-conversations.md) for warmth., **Hold the meeting.** Walk through: - What emergencies could affect your area (geographic and seasonal: earthquake, fire, flood, ice storm, heat wave). - What each household can provide: medical skills, tools, generator, water, food storage, emergency radio, transportation. - What each household might need: mobility help, language support, medical equipment, child or pet care. - Where vulnerable neighbors live: elders alone, people with disabilities, families with young children., **Make the map.** A physical drawing or printed map of the block. Mark each household. Note skills and needs (with consent). The map is not for sharing publicly; it's for the participants., **Identify a meeting place.** Where to gather if phones don't work and homes are damaged. A specific corner, a park, a school yard., **Identify a comms plan.** Who has a battery radio. Who has a backup generator. What's the plan if cell networks are down (often: walk to the meeting place and check in)., **Identify a basic supply pool.** Some neighborhoods designate one household that stores extra water, first aid, and tools for the group. Others have each household maintain their own., **Hold a follow-up.** Three to six months later. What's changed? Who's moved in? Who's moved out? Refresh the map.
• file path: recipes/07-resilience/map-your-neighborhood.md
• variations: **Apartment building version.** A single building or complex rather than a block. Often run by a tenant association. **Faith community version.** A congregation maps its members across geography, especially for elders. **Block-level version.** A more thorough version with first-aid training, supply drills, and an annual neighborhood emergency exercise. See [CERT (Community Emergency Response Team)](https://www.ready.gov/cert) training for a deeper structure. **Mutual aid pod overlap.** The map produced here often becomes the seed of a [Mutual Aid Pod](../02-small-groups-for-support/mutual-aid-pod.md). The two recipes pair naturally.
• ingredients: {"time":"2 to 3 hours per session. Optional follow-up sessions.","space":"Community center, library, church, park, or someone's living room.","people":"15 to 20 households per project. 1 to 3 core organizers.","skills":"Basic facilitation. Comfort with people talking about their vulnerabilities.","materials":"Simple forms or maps, contact list templates, flip charts.","energy_level":"Moderate."}
• where to learn more: - A model program: [San Francisco NERT: Map Your Neighborhood](https://sf-fire.org/nert/map-your-neighborhood) - For deeper training: [CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams)](https://www.ready.gov/cert) - Adjacent recipes: [Mutual Aid Pod](../02-small-groups-for-support/mutual-aid-pod.md), [Block Stewards](../01-knowing-your-neighbors/block-stewards.md), [Resilience Hub](./resilience-hub.md)
• stories from neighborhoods: **San Francisco NERT (Neighborhood Emergency Response Team)** has trained thousands of neighbors since the 1990s. A Marina District neighborhood did the mapping work in summer 2018. When an earthquake hit in 2022, neighbors responded immediately: they knew Mr. Chen used a walker and needed assistance, the Garcia family had medical training, and two homes had generators and stored water. The group quickly coordinated, treated minor injuries, and shared supplies while waiting for responders. Afterward, the neighbors said something common to communities that have done this work: the preparation had also created lasting friendship and cohesion, separate from the emergency.