This can vary depending on what institutions or components of the city you’re examining …. it would be good to understand why and how.

• Natural capital–resources, land, forests, waterways, aquifers, soil/topsoil, wildlife, fish, air, etc.
• Technology–information, computers, physical infrastructure.
• Human capital–kinds of skills, expertise (employment opportunities . . . )
• Physical infrastructure–technology, equipment, buildings, transportation, utilities …
• Organizational capital–what organizations have some stake or responsibility? Regulatory (EPA, DEQ), administrative (government–federal, state, county, municipal), religious, management (BLM, USFS, ODF&W), non-profits (HCPC, SFS, CHD b&)
  • Staff–how many people are gainfully employed in this area?
  • Volunteers, supporters (e.g., NRA, Ducks Unlimited,
  • Basic information: location, contact, website, etc.
  • Organizational mission, function,
• Spatial–maps (descriptions, ways to use . . . . citations, including dates, authors)
• Financial–money–funding, revenue, expenses, how does money flow through the system, etc. Keep in mind this will vary depending on the organization type–for instance, government office/agency, private company, non-profit organization, religious organization (church, synagogue, mosque, temple, etc.).
• Data sources (identify, document, describe, acquire if possible . . . . )
  • Data sources–the ones that might be really useful to collect, but that may not exist (but that students working on projects at a small university might be able to help identify and work with local citizens to create a system for collecting, storing, accessing, etc.)
• Use, consumption, access — and think about stakeholders here–who are they, what stakes do they have, and what access to either participate of use some service is available?
• Key problems facing the community (from different perspectives), could stem from declining budgets, climate change, political debate/differences, cultural differences, etc. You get this by asking experts or people working in the field, but also the people who might be suffering the problems–requiring, as Stoecker and Chambers point out, a participatory approach.

Advice: The best way to practice this would be to take some area you’re interested in, and walk through this list with it, come up with examples. You should do this in front of the computer to confirm the assumptions you might be making–don’t just run this through your head and think you’ll acquire the inquiry skills you need.