Overhead shot of a physical system map on a massive table, hands with blue ink markers drawing feedback loops connecting neighborhood resources, bright natural daylight.
Overhead shot of a physical system map on a massive table, hands with blue ink markers drawing feedback loops connecting neighborhood resources, bright natural daylight.
Read Food Desert Study
Real-world leverage

Mapping local campaigns to win

Analyze documented strategies from local coalitions who bypassed academic jargon to expose and dismantle the hidden forces keeping their neighborhoods stuck.

Candid shot of diverse community leaders collaborating around a wooden table covered in sticky notes and hand-drawn connection lines, bright morning light.
Candid shot of diverse community leaders collaborating around a wooden table covered in sticky notes and hand-drawn connection lines, bright morning light.
A crisp, high-contrast technical schematic diagram of a feedback loop on a whiteboard, showing clean vector-like lines and clear text labels, daylight.
A crisp, high-contrast technical schematic diagram of a feedback loop on a whiteboard, showing clean vector-like lines and clear text labels, daylight.
Organizing in Action

Dismantling barriers with system mapping

Case Study 01

Mapping food distribution loops

A neighborhood coalition tracked local food supply lines, exposing a feedback loop that starved corner stores while over-funding regional waste. By rerouting small-batch logistics, they eliminated a ten-year food desert.

Case Study 02

Halting predatory zoning policies

Advocates used leverage point analysis to map how speculative housing investments directly triggered displacement. They presented this visual map to city council, successfully pausing a major rezoning bill.

The Blueprint

How to adapt these maps

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Identify the boundary

Trace feedback loops

Locate leverage points

Define your local issue and catalog every neighborhood actor, resource, and municipal policy that touches it directly.

Connect the elements with arrows to map the self-reinforcing cycles that keep your community's problem stuck.

Pinpoint the exact leverage points where a small community intervention can disrupt the cycle for lasting change.

Explore Core Curriculum

Ready to map your neighborhood?

Access our completely free, open-source curriculum and download the visual mapping templates to start organizing your neighborhood today.