Selected Portfolio
Projects below contain images that show only a small sample of completed information products, while omitting key identifying features or are displayed at a low resolution for the intention of information protection.
Global ecclesiastical jurisdiction boundary data set:
Administrative 1 (Episcopal Conference), 2 (Provinces), 3 (Dioceses)
Dates: April 2016 – December 2016
In 2016 Molly inquired with the Holy See Secretary of State Office about their current map data and security concerns and policies. Surprisingly, there was no existing data-based map of the global Church nor were there policies to address security of data. She sought and received the approval of the Holy See Secretary of State’s office for this project in June 2016, asking if there were any security concerns before commencing. Public use of this dataset will only occure once sufficent funding is aquired to build out the supporting infrastructure and policy.

The map above is a print version GoodLands developed from our data. We have a partnership with Maps.com for development and distribution — if you would like a print copy or to invest/support our capacity to bring this market to life, please email info@good-lands.org with the headline “Maps for Print”
Ongoing Data Development Projects
Maps exploring the Catholic Church around the world in relation to womens religious, deacons, priests, Bishops, Catholic governance, natural disasters, climate change, migration, human trafficking, sexual abuse, and the environment
Spring 2016 – Present
Support: Students at University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, additional course projects, GoodLands, Esri, pro bono work and participation by volunteers
Vatican Arts and Technology Council
Map Exhibit
November – December 2016
Three exhibit-sized maps and over fifty web applications were created for display in Casnia Pio IV as part of the Vatican Arts and Technology Council. GoodLands was the only startup featured alongside Google, the MIT AI Lab, Twitter, and Facebook.
Support: Gray Area Foundation, GoodLands

Foundation for Catholic Education and Diocesean Clients
Study and Suitability Analysis: the Landscape of Catholic Education
Various locations
2017 – 2019
The final information products are web-based mapping applications and an indepth 30 – 50 page report in addition to a collaborative design and capacity building workshop.
Support: Foundation for Catholic Education, additional clients for each relevant project

Audience: Vatican Secretary of Communications, Vatican Radio, and various Internet Service Providers
Catholic Radio Infrastructure in Africa
Summer 2017
A small report was developed for this project, including over 15 analyses and maps of Catholic communications infrastructure in Africa additional web-based mapping applications are in GoodLands’ internal data infrastructure.
Support: GoodLands

Religious Family (Anonymous)
February 2016 – July 2016, Map Survey Application Development Spring 2017
Support: GoodLands and client

Mapping the Global Footprint of Catholic Childcare, Welfare, and Healthcare
UISG and Private Foundation
Exhibit materials, Catholic Orphan Care
August 2018 – August 2019
GoodLands created the first global illustrations of Catholic orphanages; hospitals; dispensaries; communities and institutions for individuals with Hansen’s disease (leprosy); matrimonial advice centers; unspecified welfare institutions; re-education centers; homes for the elderly ill, infirm, and handicapped; children’s nurseries; and population from ~1980 – 2016. We mined several decades of data from the Vatican’s Annuarium Statisticum Eccleasiea, cleaned it and joined it to geodata sets of historical and current country boundaries. We used this to create a significant number of web-based map applications, analyses, and infographics stored in an online portal and over ten print information products including posters, wall maps, reports, infographics, and other print materials. A two-day workshop run by GoodLands at the foundation’s headquarters was used to determine the exhibit materials and direction.
Support: Private Foundation, GoodLands
Annuarium Statisticum Eccleasiea Data Extraction Software
Winter 2018 – Spring 2019
GoodLands developed software for data extraction from PDF images of several decades of hard copies of Vatican data. This software was completed to facilitate the project above. However, it can be modified and extended to mine data from other sections of the Anniarium Statisticum Ecclesiea, such as educational institutions, for future projects with lower overhead, allowing us to complete comparable projects at significantly lower costs than other institutions or organizations who have not developed this software and are not familiar with the data source.

Catholic Properties, USCCB
Spring 2016 – Summer 2019
Habitat Connectivity, USCCB
Spring 2016 – Summer 2019
San Diego Diocese, Hartford Archdiocese: Ecological Plan prototype development
Not competed in collaboration with dioceses
Summer 2015 – Spring 2017
GoodLands created maps of the San Diego Diocese and Hartford Archdioceses. We analyzed their properties for ecological, social, and financial potential. This work enabled us to create project prototypes to show other dioceses and understand the analyses, datasets, and data standards necessary for all diocesan-scale projects.
Los Angeles Archdiocese
Bid to pre-workshop, full project contract not pursued due to lack of capacity at GoodLands
2017 – 2018
GoodLands created a 30-page project proposal for the Los Angeles Archdiocese that was enthusiastically received. Pricing and proprietary details have been removed from the shortened, public version. This proposal includes base-line maps of all diocesan properties and analyses concerning affordable housing that would enable the Archdiocese to better address the growing homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. Project bidding included several meetings with the Archdioceses, including two in Los Angeles at the diocesan headquarters.
Transforming a Vacant Lot into a Vibrant Community Space
Principal Designer: Molly Burhans (shortly pre-GoodLands)
Build Firm: RDG Group
Client: Garndeing the Community
Location: Springfield, MA
2014 – current construction phase
This design, completed for Gardening the Community maximizes the efficient use of resources and energy. Sustainable design addresses the interconnected mechanisms of environmental, economic and social sustainability. One of the most important components of sustainable design is the creation of a design with a long-term vision in mind.
Case Study: Integral Design for a Parish
Location: New York State
Fall 2015
Click on the arrows on either side of the image to reveal strategy
With this project we explore how an ecologically designed and planned Church parish could positively impact the environment, the parish community, and nearby neighbors. Scroll down to learn about the whole-systems approach that informs an ecological design, such as the one below.
Climate modeling in dioceses (with Yale FES)
Solar Radiation Analysis, Select Dioceses USCCB
Generative Parish Boundaries, Unnamed
Synod Story Maps
This page does not provide a comprehensive list of our work. Please check back for regular updates.