This article explores how middle school students envision their communities through an in-depth community mapping project. The research explores the extent of students' sense of their community while prompting them to define what community means and whether it is valued by students. The project also seeks to understand students' sense of belonging and unbelonging to places and spaces within their perceived communities. By exploring students' own perceptions and experiences, the research offers to provide insights for how to make curricular choices for social studies classes which may better foster community involvement and democratic action and participation.