The Urban Lead Atlas is a collaborative community-based research initiative to create the nations’ first crowd-sourced open online map identifying toxic lead hazards located within the homes, schools, landscape, and lead service lines for water in American cities. The project will begin by integrating data from a small set of cities – New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Newark - including housing enforcement and lead service line datasets, data on lead dust in schools, and the results of soil lead tests in parks and backyards, on the websites of Columbia University’s Center for Sustainable Urban Development. Ultimately, the goal of the Urban Lead Atlas is to create and populate a fully open online platform that is capable of integrating data from “citizen scientists” and residents regarding the sites of lead hazards in their city’s environment and buildings. This research is important, as experts estimate that over nine million US children have lead blood levels which may cause sub-clinical effects and permanent adverse health, cognitive, and behavior outcomes. The Lead Atlas is intended as the first model for a national effort, the American Lead Atlas project, which seeks to create a national online collaborative map of lead hazards within American cities.

One selected candidate will receive a stipend via the DSI Scholars program. Amount is subject to available funding.

Faculty Advisor

  • Professor: Joyce Klein-Rosenthal
  • Department/School: Earth Institute
  • Location: Interchurch Building; 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 520, NY, NY 10115
  • My research uses spatial analysis to understand the complex interactions and relationships between natural systems, land use, and the urban built environment, and how these relationships impact population health. I use community-sourced geographic information systems to provide urban residents with information on environmental quality and hazards, in regards to an important public health problem facing American cities – the exposure of residents to legacy lead in older homes, urban soil, and in drinking water.

Project Timeline

  • Earliest starting date: 6/1/2020
  • End date: 8/15/2020
  • Number of hours per week of research expected during Summer 2020: ~20 (If I am success in grant writing, this would be a full-time, 40 hours/week position.

Candidate requirements

  • Skill sets:
    • Background in GIS (ArcMap and/or QGIS) and managing large spatial datasets
    • Familiarity with/willingness to learn Javascript/R/Leaflet for online mapping
    • Interest in or familiarity with local government open data reporting procedures
  • Student eligibility: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, master’s
  • International students on F1 or J1 visa: eligible
  • Additional comments:
    • Interest in public policy, urban planning, environmental health, & housing justice
    • Interest in the history of lead poisoning in the US
    • Basic understanding of statistics, R Studio, and Python