Transferring GIS / Community-Based Transportation Assessment Tools Nationwide

This proposal is aimed at increasing the numbers of people who walk and bike through developing, implementing, and evaluating new mobile GIS, community-based assessment tools. This phase of the research project intends to take the tools from the laboratory into practice with relevant communities and agencies across the United States. Rather than trying to solely assess built environment characteristics that may influence walking or biking behavior, this project follows a community change model through involving community participants in self assessments of their environment. Such assessments differ based on the population targeted and outcomes desired, but unlike other national research in…

This proposal is aimed at increasing the numbers of people who walk and bike through developing, implementing, and evaluating new mobile GIS, community-based assessment tools.  This phase of the research project intends to take the tools from the laboratory into practice with relevant communities and agencies across the United States.

Rather than trying to solely assess built environment characteristics that may influence walking or biking behavior, this project follows a community change model through involving community participants in self assessments of their environment.  Such assessments differ based on the population targeted and outcomes desired, but unlike other national research in this area, this work seeks to facilitate community change along with collecting and analyzing factors about the local built environment.

The first two phases of this project have been immensely successful.  The first tool produced, the School Environment Assessment Tool (SEAT), has been tested and refined and is ready to be transformed into a self-contained tool for communities to use across the country.  The second tool, the Complete Streets Assessment Tool (CSAT), has been developed and vetted by leading national experts on Complete Streets, and will have been tested and be ready for national distribution for this OTREC round of funding.  A third tool, an Americans with Disabilities Act Assessment Tool (ADAAT), is in development and has already attracted outside attention, including a spin off tool development with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT).  Some more testing and refining of this tool will occur by the next OTREC round, and it too should be ready for final development and distribution to communities and agencies that have interest in it.

The GIS tools are being developed with two audiences in mind.  The first approach is a bottom-up, citizen participatory approach to walking/biking assessments and the tools are developed in a way that maximizes public involvement by local municipalities, school districts, transit agencies, non-governmental organizations and citizen groups while minimizing the training needs of a general, non-GIS using public.  With the data, communities can conduct self assessments of the micro scale built environment, identify specific geographic areas of unsafe conditions, prioritize areas of greatest need, engage with local transportation officials more productively, and be better prepared to leverage enhancement funds.

Tools are also able to be customized for more technician/professional audiences who would readily incorporate this mobile GIS technology into their work as a more efficient and spatially accurate approach to meeting the healthy community challenge through enhanced walking and biking infrastructure. 

This project has received significant external matching funds from the National Center for Biking & Walking (NCBW), a national nonprofit organization working with communities across the country to support efforts of pedestrian infrastructure improvement and increases in the numbers of pedestrian trips. In addition to their cash contribution, during this next cycle of OTREC support, NCBW will be actively working to transfer the tools developed in the University environment to communities across the country through their national network, connections, and reputation for helping communities increase rates of walking and biking.