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Mapping the past Architecture students from The College of The Bahamas and Florida A & M University are working together to create a digital map of the city of Nassau as part of an overall project to protect the island's heritage resources. The students gathered at Fort Charlotte earlier this week to discuss the digital mapping project. The Nassau Heritage Project is sponsored by the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation. Students will create a computerized database of the town including three-dimensional models of its key historic structures. The project is being undertaken in conjunction with the Bahamas National Geographic Information System Centre, the Albany development, the Department of Archives and the Downtown Nassau Partnership. State Minister for Culture Charles Maynard told the students that he had recently visited Germany, which was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. "I was impressed with the revitalization of this formerly divided city, meshing the historical with the modern. We should be trying to achieve the same thing here. This partnership will help tremendously in achieving the AMMC's mandate as it relates to the city of Nassau, and 20 years from now you could say you were at the starting gate." A Geographic Information System captures and stores a wide range of geo-reference data electronically, allowing proposed changes to be evaluated by planners and businesspeople. Some 450 properties in downtown Nassau on Bay Street and Over-the-Hill will be included in the heritage database, and students will collect field information on significant historic structures. "This is an innovative partnership designed to train Bahamian students in digital mapping and ensure that historical information can be easily included in development planning. We also want to raise public interest in these special places that make Nassau what it is," an AMMC spokesperson said. This focus on historic resources will ensure that those elements that give Nassau its unique and valuable character can be readily included in planning and development efforts. Although many of the town's historic structures have already been identified, site information has been scattered and difficult to access. Now, modern photos and videos, historic photographs and maps, text descriptions, historic maps and other information about the selected buildings can be incorporated into the database and made widely available. This focus on historic resources will ensure that those elements that give Nassau its unique and valuable character can be readily included in planning and development efforts. Bahamian students from FAMU and COB will have an opportunity to work with local experts like architect Jackson Burnside and developer Orjan Lindroth to gain a better understanding of their own national heritage. "For three centuries Nassau has been the cultural and economic heart of The Bahamas, and the generations have left their public spaces, their streets and stairs, their churches, stores and dwellings to make the special place that is Nassau. It is the goal of our project to recognize and respect those tangible remains so that Nassau's past will always be part of its future," the AMMC spokesman said. The co-operation between COB and FAMU is designed to improve the capacity of the COB architecture program in computerized applications and emphasizing the unique Bahamian architectural heritage. At the same time, FAMU can further strengthen its attraction for COB students to continue their architectural studies in Florida. FAMU arranges in-state tuition rates for Bahamian students, a significant cost savings. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2009