THE LOCAL TRANSMISSION · ONLINE SEASON 1 · UES-202
The 25-Mile Atlas: Mapping a Living Radius
MAPS + CIVIC
Map a place through useful rooms, missing connections, access barriers, lived stories, and the relationships that make a radius more than a circle.
- Module time
- About 2.5–3 hours per module
- Pace
- Start anytime · no deadlines · pause and return.
- Completion
- Any four modules plus the final course outcome.
- Materials
- Browser and free web-mapping tool · Phone camera or notebook · Printed neighborhood map option · No GIS experience or paid software required
WHY THIS CLASS EXISTS
Make observation useful to somebody else.
Map a place through useful rooms, missing connections, access barriers, lived stories, and the relationships that make a radius more than a circle.
Builds from Season 0: UES-101, UES-102, UES-108.
HOW THE ROOM RUNS
Prompt. Fieldwork. Studio. Receipt.
- 01Module prompt
One central question opens each module. The source shelf is optional; the page itself contains the full path.
- 02Field task
One 60–90 minute act of looking, making, recording, or hosting.
- 03Self-guided studio
A 75-minute making, editing, or reflection session you can complete alone.
- 04Module receipt
A 20-minute useful trace kept privately or shared only when you choose.
YOUR PRIVATE COURSE DESK
Start here. No account required.
Check off modules as you work. Progress stays in this browser; the university never receives your name, work, location, email, or wallet.
0 of 5 completion steps · finish any four modules plus the final outcome.
Local progress is ready. You can also use the class without saving anything.
THE SIX-MODULE ROOM
A complete first syllabus.
Everything required is printed here. References named inside modules are optional; use this on-page toolkit whenever a module asks for a check, scenario, ledger, or handoff.
- MODULE01
When does a radius describe belonging, and when does it conceal difference?
Who Draws the Boundary?
On-page prompts + optional references
- On-page boundary comparison: draw one 25-mile circle, one daily-travel boundary, one relationship boundary, and one ecological boundary; label who each includes and excludes
- Participatory mapping and counter-mapping examples
- Local transit, neighborhood, and watershed boundary references
Self-guided studio
Compare administrative, ecological, emotional, and practical boundaries around El Segundo and each learner’s place.
Field task
Draw four boundaries around one daily need and annotate who each boundary includes or excludes.
Module receipt · private by default
A personal radius map with a short boundary statement.
- MODULE02
What does a map claim before any learner adds a mark?
Base Maps and Honest Legends
On-page prompts + optional references
- OpenStreetMap attribution and editing basics
- City and county public map layers
- Map legends, uncertainty marks, and source dates
Self-guided studio
Read competing base maps, design a legend, and distinguish verified fact from local report.
Field task
Audit one map against lived experience and document one omission, error, or stale record.
Module receipt · private by default
A sourced correction card or clearly labeled open question.
- MODULE03
What can a short, repeatable route reveal that a distant overview cannot?
Run a Transect
On-page prompts + optional references
- Walking-transect field protocols
- Universal-design and curb-to-door access prompts
- Responsible street photography and location privacy
Self-guided studio
Practice a compact field protocol for route, threshold, asset, barrier, sound, sign, and unanswered question.
Field task
Walk, roll, ride, or remotely reconstruct one transect and record five evidence-based observations.
Module receipt · private by default
One transect strip with route, time, mode, and access conditions.
- MODULE04
How can a map hold testimony without turning a person into data?
Story and Memory Layers
On-page prompts + optional references
- Consent-based community storytelling prompts
- Oral-history excerpt and attribution practices
- Location fuzzing and sensitive-place redaction patterns
Self-guided studio
Add narrative layers while preserving context, consent, and the right not to be mapped.
Field task
Create a self-authored memory layer. Optionally invite another person to contribute a consented place memory; the self-authored route counts equally.
Module receipt · private by default
A private-by-default self-authored memory layer, consented story pin, approximate-area note, or intentionally blank protected place.
- MODULE05
Which missing connection would matter most, and to whom?
Power, Access, Gaps
On-page prompts + optional references
- On-page systems map: connect the documented gap to people affected, existing assets, decision maker, public evidence, first action, and one uncertainty
- Public meeting, service-request, and department-route examples
- Small civic repair and tactical-improvement case studies
Self-guided studio
Cluster the atlas into assets, barriers, decision paths, and candidate repairs.
Field task
Verify one gap with two sources and identify the people or offices already closest to it.
Module receipt · private by default
A one-page evidence card for a candidate repair.
- MODULE06
How will this map stay useful, correctable, and locally accountable?
Publish the Living Atlas
On-page prompts + optional references
- Public map moderation and correction policies
- On-page export check: title, legend, source dates, privacy-safe precision, alt text or text list, credits, file format, and backup copy
- On-page stewardship note: name what may be corrected, how to submit a correction, who decides, the next review date, and what should be removed
Self-guided studio
Self-review evidence, access, privacy, moderation, and maintenance before saving the atlas; opening it to others is optional.
Field task
Finish one repair route and write a simulated next-action handoff. Sending it to a local steward is optional and the simulation counts equally.
Module receipt · private by default
A private-by-default map layer, repair route, sources, correction path, and stewardship note; publication is optional.
WHAT COMPLETION MEANS
No grades. Real work.
- 01
Personal radius map · suggested after module 2
Draw the practical radius of one daily need and explain which boundaries are geographic, social, or infrastructural. - 02
Three verified field records · suggested after module 4
Make three private atlas records. Each includes date, privacy-safe place, observation, source or direct-observation label, confidence, access note, and correction note; contributing them to a shared atlas is optional. - 03
One repair route · suggested after module 6
Create an illustrated path from a documented local gap to one realistic first repair. A private export counts equally; publication is optional.
Complete any four of the six module receipts and finish the course outcome or a private equivalent. There are no grades, deadlines, peer requirements, or public-posting requirements.
ACCESS IS PART OF THE SYLLABUS
More than one way through the room.
- Every instruction is readable on the public course page; audio or video references require a transcript or equivalent text path.
- Every required prompt, scenario, rubric, and checklist is written on this course page; named sources are optional references, not missing course materials.
- Low-bandwidth, print-friendly syllabus with no paid platform or subscription required.
- No live attendance, camera, account, wallet, or public posting is required.
- Progress stays in this browser unless the learner chooses to download a private completion receipt.
- Remote public-record, self-authored memory, and archival mapping paths when a field walk or interview is unavailable.
- Independent route
- Active now. The complete sequence, studio prompts, access paths, and private checklist are on this page.
- Optional faculty profile
- A community cartographer, urban designer, geographer, or organizer able to teach evidence, uncertainty, participatory mapping, and responsible location privacy.
- Supported cohort
- Optional and funding-dependent. Human review or scheduled sessions never gate access or completion.
- Planning cost
- $3,300 for maintenance, access, materials, and an optional supported cohort—not tuition or admission.
Learners retain copyright. Public licensing and Tezos minting are optional and separate. A wallet, public identity, public artifact, or blockchain transaction is never required for this class.
THE ROOM IS OPEN
Bring one place. Leave one useful trace.
Start now, move at your own pace, and keep the work private if that is the right path. Human help and supported cohorts can be added without changing anyone’s right to learn independently.
Support does not buy admission, curriculum control, governance rights, or faculty appointments.