What is Asset Mapping?

Community Asset Mapping is a capacity-focused way of strengthening communities. This positive approach can be used instead of the typical focus on a community’s needs and problems to start community development work. The community assets mapping approach:

• starts with what is present in a community
• concentrates on the agenda-building and problem-solving capacity of the residents
• stresses local determination, investment, creativity, and control.

Assets are the attributes of communities that its residents share and value. They are at the core of community life and central for the sustainability of the economy, society and environment in a community. In case of youth education, this could be formal services, places to go for recreation, internship opportunities, adults who can teach skills, etc.

The approach goes back to the work of John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight, which they first outlined in their book, Building Communities From the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community’s Assets. It can be used in any community, and offers an effective strategy for involving a variety of people and organizations in strengthening a community.
When participants map community assets they produce:
• an inventory of all the positive things about the community
• a prioritized list of all the valued aspects of the community
• reasons why participants value these assets in the community

This map of the most valued aspects of a community creates a foundation to collectively strategize about how to sustain and build on them or informs further planning such as strategic planning, community development and organizational development.