GIS, heritage research, and conservation planning for Mount Auburn Cemetery · Baltimore, Maryland · June–December 2019
How can mapping help families find a grave, share a life story, and support the care of a historic cemetery? Justin Fair explored these questions through a graduate independent study at Morgan State University, building on the Fall 2018 Westport planning studio.
The resulting project brings together GIS maps and mapping experiments, cemetery conservation research, a curated bibliography, photography, public-facing website materials, and proposals for long-term stewardship. This site is a guide to that body of work—not just the final report.
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Reading this archive
These materials document a 2019 student study. Maps and work samples show research and proof of concept; recommendations for a searchable burial archive, interactive mapping, site improvements, and programming are exploratory—not an adopted cemetery plan or a claim that those systems were implemented. Site decisions belong with cemetery leadership, groundskeepers, families, and other stakeholders. References to events, grants, and “next steps” reflect the project period, not current opportunities.
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Mapping the City of the Dead by Justin Fair-web — the uploaded text-and-image report, including research, maps, website content, and proposed tasks.
Final Plan Proposal — use the original document to view designed map plates and printed page references alongside the web text.
The report organizes the work around four deliverables, supported by conservation research and the independent-study record. Page references below follow the report’s printed contents, not this website.
| Part of the report | What to look for | Printed pages |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation research | Planning approaches, cemetery operations, and an interview-based case study of Mount Calvary Cemetery | 18–28 |
| 1. GIS maps | Neighborhood assets and transit; pedestrian and vehicular connections; proposed circulation and wayfinding; ecological restoration; georeferenced section maps; historical cemetery locations; grave-location and marker examples; greeting plaza concept | 29–66 |
| 2. Cemetery bibliography | A browsable research collection organized by subject, source, and reference type | 67–68 |
| 3. Informational website | Public-facing material on cemetery heritage, the project rationale, restoration concepts, involvement, and digital storytelling | 69–78 |
| 4. Tasks by goal and party | Proposed priorities for grave-location mapping, a memorial park, groundskeeping, family care, outreach, and fundraising | 79 onward |
For the academic framework and work process, the opening sections include the syllabus, goals, timeline, timesheet, and project matrix. Later materials include grant research, an intellectual property statement, and future research opportunities.
Choose a route through the work—many of these materials can be browsed separately from the report.