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Dr. Jennifer Mapes teaches Mapping, Space & Power, Qualitative Methods, Seminar in Geography, Cartographic Design, Nature & Society and Urban Sustainability.

Her primary research and teaching interest is connecting global and national change to local outcomes, with a focus on urban sustainability in small cities. Living in downtown ����ֱ��, Jen continues her work on small towns by studying the recent downtown redevelopment. Her book, "The New American Small Town: Lessons for Sustainable Urban Futures," was published in 2025. The book examines the effects of global contemporary change in small towns, connecting theoretical understandings of place and space to on-the-ground outcomes. As part of her research, she spent nine months in seven towns in the American West, interviewing local residents and key decision-makers to learn how their towns experience and react to socio-economic and environmental change.

Her current research and practice focus on the city of ����ֱ��, with a particular interest in its recent downtown redevelopment. In 2017 and 2025, she was named a Volunteer of the Year by Main Street ����ֱ�� for her work on downtown map kiosks and on the Public Art Committee. Jen recently opened the in the Map Library, which is available as a comfortable place for students to study and relax, and also open to community members to make and use maps to explore difficult issues.