Historic Resource Survey
Kalamazoo’s Neighborhoods
Northside, Douglas, Southside, and Oakwood
Kalamazoo, Michigan
2025*
Katie and Cassandra conducted a reconnaissance level historic resource survey of over 3,300 properties in the Northside, Douglas, Oakwood, and Southside neighborhoods in Kalamazoo. Each neighborhood contained a variety of resource types dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Supplementing Katie and Cassandra’s fieldwork was photography collected through a community-driven survey initiative, Inventory Kalamazoo. A geographic information system (GIS) was created to determine which resources were already photographed by volunteers. The GIS also allowed the City’s existing property information to be incorporated into inventory forms and facilitated a high-level analysis of each neighborhood’s development.
Building upon the relationship established with the City following the completion of the Edison neighborhood historic survey, Katie and Cassandra developed survey reports and inventory forms for each of the four neighborhoods. The survey will not only provide a foundation for future preservation activities, but also utilized volunteer survey work completed by local residents.
*completed while employed at Kraemer Design Group