Mapping Raleigh Neighborhoods

A map is a story: of history, of identity, of loss, of power. I set out to design a map of Raleigh's neighborhoods to honor residents past and present, particularly the Black neighborhoods whose histories have historically been razed, ignored, and are being gentrified beyond recognition today.

This project is in progress. I began research in Spring of 2021 and spent a year defining a comprehensive foundational map of all of Raleigh's downtown neighborhoods (which doesn't exist up until this point) through research, photography, and interviews with residents; and then spent another year hand lettering and illustrating the full map with the unique characteristics of each neighborhood.

I engaged with NC State professors and a prominent local historian of Black Raleigh Neighborhoods to ensure I was portraying Raleigh's communities as equitably as possible.

Left: A final map of all of Raleigh's neighborhoods defined.
Right: My first day interviewing residents and photographing neighborhood motifs to incorporate into illustrations.

Research

Defining Raleigh's Neighborhoods

Raleigh is a rapidly growing southern city in North Carolina. Its neighborhoods have been shifting, growing, and disappearing over the past 50 years. When I started to research Raleigh’s neighborhoods in 2021, I found that a single cohesive map of Raleigh downtown neighborhoods doesn’t exist yet. All the maps I found in my research were incomplete and tended to focus on the protected, historically white neighborhoods over the lesser known historically Black neighborhoods.

Before I could even start illustrating, I had to identify every neighborhood so all downtown communities were honored and represented. For several months I walked every quadrant of Raleigh and interviewed residents in person and asked them to outline their neighborhoods on my ipad, which I cross referenced with official documentation from local historians and professors in the area.

I ultimately identified over 30 neighborhoods. While exploring, I photographed visual motifs in architecture and foliage so every inch of my map would align with the physical motifs of the neighborhoods themselves.

Left: Rough illustration incorporating motifs identified from the reference photographs I took on-site (middle)
Right: Research notes of Raleigh's Black neighborhoods by name, significance, and referenced motifs

Hand Lettering

Capturing Neighborhood Character

I hand-lettered the names of the 30+ neighborhoods I identified in an effort to capture the *vibe* if you will of each location. I drew inspiration from signs, historic hand lettering, and local designers.

1. Rough neighborhood name sketches to get a feeling for how the neighborhood names should flow in the overall composition of the map
2. More precise hand sketching
3. Final refinement within the larger illustration

Illustration

Bringing each neighborhood to life

I drew from the shops, architecture, traditions, foliage, history, and geography unique to each neighborhood to fill the map with dense illustrations. Every element on the map is there for a reason.

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Final Map

After feedback from local Raleigh residents and local historian Carmen Cauthen, the map is produced and ready to distribute.

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