Community Values Mapping for Apache Junction
27 April 2018
Andres Gonzalez

Introduction
The City of Apache Junction, AZ (AJ) partnered with Arizona State University’s (ASU)
Project Cities program in 2017 to receive help and expertise in developing a more livable
community. Several ASU classes are working on projects that will be produced and delivered to
AJ. One of the ongoing programs is the Positively Apache Junction rebranding program. The aim
of this program is to help the city develop messaging to improve its reputation in the Phoenix
Metropolitan Area and to increase economic development. The sustainability challenge is to
reverse negative reputation and stereotypes about the city, which has a lower socioeconomic
status than the average of the metro area. The intervention point was to identify and compile
local residents’ most valued locations in and around AJ for promotional and development
purposes. AJ’s desired future state is a positive reputation that actively promotes economic
development through tourism and its natural, cultural, and built-environment amenities. The goal
is to attract new residents and have visitors stay to visit AJ itself, not only drive past it to
attractions just outside of city limits.

Methods
This Culminating Experience (CE) project acted as a preliminary case study for a Public
Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) methodology that was expanded upon by
ASU’s online HST 485: History of the Wild class, taught by Dr. Joshua MacFadyen. The
primary goal of PPGIS is to link geographic locations with an individual’s values. The aim of the
methodology was to compile a data set of valued locations through public participation. The
project was separated into 3 Phases, each building off of the next. Phase 1 was an update of
OpenStreetMaps by adding popular mixed-use trails on the platform. Phase 2 was to create
historical base maps for the HST 485’s historical project; this was done using ArcMap 10.5
software. Phase 3 was the PPGIS survey conducted at public events about residents most valued
locations, during which they placed colored stickers on a large paper map. There were 5 colors
representing the following values: Recreational, Cultural, Aesthetic, Spiritual, and Special Place
values. The benchmark for success for this CE project was to generate a map of residents’
values, identify any valuable hotspots, and provide this information to the City of AJ to promote
these highly valued locations.
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Community Values Mapping for Apache Junction, AZ

Outcomes
Phase 1 was completed by adding unmarked mixed-use trails to OSM. Phase 2 was
completed by building and providing historical aerial maps of AJ in 1985 and 2004 to the class.
Phase 3 was completed by conducting 3 survey sessions and gathering a total of 186 values with
stickers and maps. Within the 186 values were (number of values): Recreational (62), Special
Place (46), Cultural (30), Aesthetic (27), and Spiritual (21). Data was uploaded to Maptionnaire
online survey, density analysis performed, and 6 highly valued locations were identified (number
of values): Superstition Mountain and Lost Dutchman State Park (40), Public Library and
Multigenerational Center (19), Superstition Mountain – Lost Dutchman Museum and Elvis
Presley Memorial Chapel (17), Prospector Park (16), Flatiron Park (14), and Los Gringos Locos
Restaurant (6). Now, the City of AJ has a pilot example of gathering public participation data to
geographically identify locations that are particularly valuable to the community. The gathered
information has both values and location, which can be used across different mediums. This CE
project, combined with the findings from the HST 485 course, were presented to City of AJ
officials on April 25th 2018 at the Project Cities Showcase. The city can utilize this information
as a pathway to sustainability by incorporating this information into its efforts to improve its
negative reputation. In practice, this means developing promotional materials that incorporates
positive values from the community to positively represent AJ. The project approach was
validated by measuring qualitative data, like values, by placing it on a map and making those
locations and values promotable outside the community.

Future Steps
This CE project addressed the partner’s sustainability challenge. The project opened up a
pathway to sustainability by providing the City of AJ with personal values data from residents.
Highly valued locations have been identified, it is up to the city to effectively share this
information with the outside world. There is an opportunity for the city to perform the same
survey for a longer period and in an online format, generating a much larger data set and finding
other highly valued places in the community. The city should bring these highly valued
amenities to current areas of the city that are lacking, and invest in connecting these locations
with multi-modal transportation trails for easier access. As the city develops empty land, they
now have a framework of values and amenities to include with urban growth. Future investment
should prioritize characteristics of favored sites identified by residents, like community centers
and maintained grass parks. These new locations must improve the wellbeing of the community,
which will aid goal of attracting new residents and tourism. This project would be improved by
gathering a place history from residents. It would be powerful to attach locations on the map
with entire histories and experiences. Resident stories were heard during the survey process of
this CE project, but were not written or quantified. This could be further incorporated into
decision making for development by the city. A major opportunity for improvement, and a
sustainability communications project, is the development of marketing materials from data
gathered in this project. To achieve the full potential of this CE project, marketing materials need
to be created that incorporates insight, stories, and empathy from stakeholder engagement and
promoted. Web pages, videos, travel guides, and place histories are all viable options.

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