In addition to maps, aerial photographs and atlases from a variety of publishing sources, the Map Collection  houses a fair number of government documents. The Map Collection is located on the 3rd floor of the Main Library.

The following are some compelling electronic resources available to you.

Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970
Maps of many American cities from various points in time help document growth patterns.

Columbia earthscape: An online resource on the global environment
On-line full-text access to a wide range of resources in Earth-systems science, including papers, conferences, journal abstracts, books and databases.

The Columbia Gazetteer of the World

Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Interactive Mapping

Iowa Department of Transportation Historical Maps

Iowa Heritage Digital Collections
"The Iowa Heritage Digital Collections (IHDC) is envisioned as an online collection of Iowa history and culture created by bringing together documents, images, maps, finding aids, interpretive and educational materials, and other media from collections held by a wide range of organizations throughout Iowa." Early maps of Iowa may be of interest to planners.

Simply Map "SimplyMap is a web-based mapping application that lets users quickly create professional-quality thematic maps and reports using powerful demographic, business, and marketing data. SimplyMap turns complex data into valuable information that is easily accessed through an innovative and user-friendly interface."