Jen Mapes

Dead animal carcass on the sidewalk, likely plowed onto there.

Not sure what this was but it’s still there in the sidewalk in Akron a few weeks later.

Glad you shared so I could dispel this myth. 283,000+ and growing taking the AP Human Geography exam.

Actually even more students took the class that’s just the number who took the exam. More students taking AP geog than AP environmental science. Doesn’t mean we don’t struggle to get geography into US high schools but it’s not dead.

Not true! 283,000 high school students too AP Human Geography last year.

If riding an e-bike is cheating, just wait until folks hear about cars

I can't get over this number: in 2007, there were 360,000 newspaper jobs. Now, there are 80,000. "My local paper sucked!" Sure. What sucks even more? The void. "I get all my news from the Guardian!" No, the Guardian doesn't report on your town council, your school board, local cops.

Doing things the "right" way, burning out and then realizing there is another option, coming back and winning it all with no fucks given? Yes please tell me that story forever.

Cover of Fieldwork in Human Geography: Richard Phillips and Jennifer Johns (Sage, 2012)

Chapter 3 in Fieldwork for Human Geography (Phillips & Johns 2012) is about developing a fieldwork plan.

The host, Wick Poetry Center does amazing work. Here's a map of poems from Cuyahoga Valley National Park they made. cvnp.travelingstanzas.com/map And these beautiful banners for an earlier Poets for Science project. poetsforscience.org/collection/

Gathering - Poets for Science November 12–14, 2026 Kent State University Poets for Science Gathering The Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University invites all who share in the alliance of poetry and science to a major, multi-day...

Love that our university is hosting this Poets for Science Gathering in November. Join us! Poets who love science, scientists who love poetry, and poet-scientists are all welcome. poetsforscience.org/gathering-20...

Loved the natural scientist who reviewed my reappointment file and complained “no grant activity” last year….

map making = #sciart 💚🗺

View looking north from the top of the Terminal Tower in Cleveland over looking Lake Erie. // Image captured at: 2026-02-18 22:54:12 UTC (about 1 min. prior to this post) // Image sourced from: youtube.com/@earthcam // Current Temp in Cleveland: 56.71 F | 13.73 C // Precip: scattered clouds // Wind: SSE at 4.608 mph | 7.41 kph // Humidity: 89%

Current* conditions near Cleveland, OH:

hah, turns out the 195 is meant to be the start of the year it was completed...in the 1950s. www.etsy.com/nz/listing/4...

The times I've encountered this is not often but not zero. Committing here to calling this out politely: "please call back in when you're not driving" seems doable and potentially lifesaving.

Yesterday MyChart messaged me that my test results from a test 6 mo ago showed a life threatening condition (that I don’t have). Now I’m wondering if this was AI. 🧐

My students don’t even think they’re real residents. I share my take that even if they aren’t here in 5 or 10 yrs (+) someone just like them will be and they should vote & participate for that person. Plus… a lot them end up staying!

This is why *all* researchers need reflexivity--not just qualitative ones.

Our training and our backgrounds and our preexisting beliefs shape the research questions we ask, the methods decisions we make (eg, variables, models, or missing data strategies), and the way we interpret findings.

View of Chicago skyline from William E. Dever Crib in Lake Michigan east of North Avenue. // Image captured at: 2026-02-15 22:20:01 UTC (about 17 min. prior to this post) // Image sourced from: glerl.noaa.gov/metdata/chi/ // Current Temp in Chicago: 52.41 F | 11.34 C // Precip: clear sky // Wind: N at 5.458 mph | 8.78 kph // Humidity: 64%

Current* conditions near Chicago, IL:

USA map labeled history of transportation. Various forms of transport from wagon to maybe a car? Stretched across the map. And a unicycle? Detailed compass. Trees. All in crosstitch. Not created yet, this is a template labeled $4 at the thrift store.

I don’t quite understand #mapsinthewild

Shaker Barricades: Reinforcing Suburban Separation “Entering Apartheid Shaker: Home of Barricades” was the message commuters read as they drove under a large banner while entering Shaker Heights along the Cleveland border in September of 1990. The…

I'm tagging @skora.bsky.social in to see if he knows? My first thought was these racist barricades clevelandhistorical.org/items/show/824 but I don't see how that would cause that jagged look...

Eduard Relief Shading Eduard for Mac, the tool for creating beautiful shaded relief images for maps.

And shout out to the Eduard tool, which I did not think I'd be using for Ohio but I think it works here! eduard.earth

Map showing the Cuyahoga River as it starts northeast of Cleveland, winds south/southwest to Kent, then turns northward at Akron to Cleveland and Lake Erie. Also shown are a few nearby rivers including the Mahoning and Rocky rivers.

Took some time last night while watching the Olympics to make a map on request for a retired prof. There's not a lot of maps of the Cuyahoga out there and he was looking for one that highlighted Kent. I'll post a cc copy to my website that is less Kent-centric so folks can reuse.

Me too! It’s been me of those things where I crack myself up and no one else gets the reference.

First movie theater movie was Star Trek IV. A classic.

Flyer for walk audit sponsored by Bike Lakewood. Winter Walk and the launch of walk audits Thursday Feb. 12 Bundle up and walk to school . On Thursday, February 12, 2026 students across Lakewood are invited to participate in Winter Walk Day. Even in winter, walking to school can be fun, healthy and empowering. As you walk with your student, we invite you to complete a walk audit a short simple way to share what you notice along your route to school. Walk audits help identify sidewalk and crossing contitions, snow and ice issues, traffic speeds and driver behavior, places that feel safe or unsafe for kids. Your observations help the city, school district, and community partners prioritize improvements around schools. How to participate: walk or roll to school on February 12th, notice your route what works well and what could be better. optional: print complete and submit a walk audit.

Yes, this! Good job, Lakewood! Safe routes to school matter all year round, not just when audits are typically done in spring or fall. *also applies to all routes for people of all ages needing or wanting to walk/ride/roll

I’ll be sharing this in my Mapping, Space & Power class when we talk about the value & power of open source mapping tools.

To be clear: lots of roller rinks in the US. But this one is an absolute time capsule. A 1948 building built in a long-gone lakeside amusement park in an Akron streetcar suburb. It’s held together with duct tape in a charming, tragic, inexplicable way and just endures.

A carpeted water fountain next to a carpeted wall on a carpeted floor, all of which have different color and pattern carpeting under a sign that reads We Sell Skates

Kids and adults skate under a large disco ball.

60s era decor or earlier with old lockers, a newer 2x4 added in precariously attached to another piece and f wood painted red ties into an aging HVAC system with a hand painted Wylie coyote wearing roller skates

Multiple electric sound panels that appear to be 30-plus years old in the DJ booth

Places like this persist in the Rust Belt — their owners aren’t getting offers to sell to some big box or condos.

& still there on the replay when we watched today. On one hand they’re busy. On the other seems like an easy fix 🤷‍♀️