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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 Kent, 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 Kent, with a particular interest in its recent downtown redevelopment. In 2017 and 2025, she was named a Volunteer of the Year by Main Street Kent 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.