Over recent years, Steer has been using web technology to digitize the process of collecting public outreach information. In many of the projects we work on, we need to collect 'existing conditions' data, normally in the field. This was the case with the Culver City Transit Oriented Development Visioning project we worked on with leading architects, Johnson Fain. In order to work out what the situation on the ground was with regard to mobility, in a cost effective and meaningful fashion, and then engage residents and business in conversations about their vision, we decided to create a new platform.
The web app uses interactive mapping technology, GPS and social media to connect with residents and businesses. Ahead of a series of workshops we deployed the web app to collect localized information about existing issues, and collect potential solutions for these issues.
Because we knew, through our user experience discovery stage, that users were likely to be accessing the web app on their smartphones and tablets, we made it fully mobile responsive. This also meant we could use GPS to locate a person and make it easy for them to 'drop a pin' and register a condition or issue. We received over 700 conditions via the web app, and it was used best in the workshop environment. We were also able to capture the thoughts and ideas of people who were unable to attend the workshops.
Recipient of the 2018 APA California Transportation Planning Award of Merit.