What is QMap Hub?
This is an open-source learning platform for geographers, social scientists, and people interested in the intersection of qualitative research methods, PGIS, and participatory mapping techniques.
Find educational content, materials, and tools to develop your next social cartography and participatory mapping project.
Learn // Discover
Workshop ideas, educational content, tutorials, and pedagogical tools to develop social cartography and qualitative mapping projects.
Collaborate // Share
​Join the conversation of a community of students, instructors, and practitioners who love social mapping.
Create // Co-develop
Create and co-develop maps through participatory methods and qualitative GIS.
Reporting on Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) in Texas
Oct/2025
We have concluded the research project "Social-Wildfire Vulnerability Affecting Spanish-Speaking Populations in the Texas Wildland Urban Interface" (NSF-Natural Hazards Center).
This convergent study used a Research to Operations (R2O) approach to better understand wildfire vulnerability among Hispanic and Latinx residents in the Texas Wildland-Urban Interface.
In collaboration with the Texas A&M Forest Service, we co-developed and deployed a bilingual survey in both Spanish and English (link). The survey results were then transformed into a digital communication strategy with our partners at Telemundo Houston. Follow this link to see some of the open-source products.
The QualMapHub is thrilled to celebrate PhD student Gisou Salkhi's successful thesis defense! Her work is a prime example of how participatory and qualitative mapping can shape transdisciplinary research, particularly in advancing walkability studies.
Download and Share Our Instruments: Wildfire Ready Research
AUG. 2024
​The QMapHub team is thrilled to announce our latest collaborative achievement with the Texas A&M Forest Service. In 2024, this partnership led to the creation and publication of the "Wildfire Vulnerability of Hispanic & Latino Communities in Texas: A Bilingual Survey Instrument". This open-source tool, available in Spanish and English, is funded by the Natural Hazard Center, through The Weather Ready Research Award Program (NSF #1635593).
The questionnaire covers key areas such as sociodemographic aspects of Hispanic and Latino communities residing in the Wildland-Urban Interface, vulnerability assessment, and wildfire preparedness. It was co-created and peer-reviewed by experts from Texas Tech University, the Texas A&M Forest Service, and the Spring Fire Department, Harris County ESD.
You can download the instrument from DesignSafe (click here), share it with your networks, and even adapt it for your own research needs. We will soon be deploying this survey across Texas—stay tuned for updates!
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We’d love to hear how this instrument impacts your projects. Please share your experiences and feedback.
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Instrument Citation:
Hernandez, R., Ortiz Cardona, M., Hines, K., Bregenzer, A., & Ruggiero, R. Wildfire Vulnerability of Hispanic & Latino Communities in Texas: A Bilingual Survey Instrument (Version 3) [Data set]. Designsafe-CI. https://doi.org/10.17603/DS2-N5HB-FF16
Image: Slide of the presentation at the 2024 AAG.
Apr. 2024
At the 2024 American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, we presented the experience of designing and teaching the course "Qualitative Mapping Research, Methods, and Theory" for the first time at Texas Tech University. Our paper "Advancing on Critical Pedagogy Through Social Cartographies and PGIS: An Open Source Qualitative Mapping Course" was part of the panel "Effective Teaching Practices in GIS Education."
Join the Qualitative Map Hub Group Library!
The first cohort of the Qualitative Mapping course (Spring 2024) has started an online Group Library in Zotero (click here), the popular free and open-source bibliographic reference management software. Check it out and become a member to learn, explore, and build together a robust qualitative mapping repository.