Living in the Desert
Marcus Lee
Tohono O’odham Community College
Sells, Arizona
Introduction
!  Marcus Lee
!  TOCC
!  Kiksapa
!  NASA
!  On the Tohono O’odham Nation in
Pisinemo researching current housing in
the community
!  Use geographic information system(GIS)
to map housing in my village
Objective
" The objective of this project is to quantify
current housing structures and
determine optimal housing need under
climate change scenarios for Pisinemo.
Methodology
1.  Find base maps
2.  Build a geodatabase of Pisinemo
3.  Survey current housing
1. Base Map
NATIONAL AGRICULTURE IMAGERY
PROGRAM (NAIP)
• NAIP ortho-imagery
base map of Pisinemo on
the Tohono O’odham
Nation
Route 21
• Route 21 is the major
road that connect to
Highway 86. This is the
main highway on the
Nation.
Route 21
2. Built a geodatabase
•  Imported NAIP imagery
•  Digitized:
▫  Houses
▫  District building
▫  Driving routes
▫  Major landmarks
There are a total of 107 houses.
#  72 brick house
•  67%
# 24 adobe houses
•  23%
# 11 trailers
•  10%
3. Housing survey
$ Worked with the district to get housing structure
data
$ Did fieldwork and examined housing structures
in the village
$ Divided Pisinemo into three different sectors
" Northwest of route 21
" Southwest of route 21
" Southeast of 21
Digitized NW 21 sector
•  There are a total of 45 houses
in this sector
▫  30 brick structures
▫  12 adobe structures
▫  3 trailers
▫  the recreation center, feast
house, preschool, elderly
center, and corral are all in
this sector.
Digitized SW 21 sector
•  There are a total of 41 houses
in this sector
▫  25 brick structures
▫  10 adobe structures
▫  6 trailers
▫  The fitness center and the
district office are located in
the northeast part of this
sector.
Digitized SE 21 sector
•  There are a total of 21 houses
in this sector
▫  17 brick structures
▫  2 adobe structures
▫  2 trailers
Complications
• Local housing data was limited
due to accessibility and
availability
Summary
Addressed relevant issues for the village of
Pisinemo. However, possible solutions still need
to be talked about with the community. The
links below offers ten alternative housing
structures that may possibly be applied for
future housing.
In conclusion
# This project is about building a
better future for my
community
# By adapting to potential
climate change
# This project is a work in
progress
Acknowledgments
•  Tohono O’odham Community College
•  Kiksapa
•  NASA
•  Haskell Indian Nation University
•  Pisinemo District
Sources
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U.S. Geological Survey(USGS)
National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA)
Southwest Climate Change Network
Climate Assessment of the Southwest(CLIMAS)