Updated November 28, 2024
The goal of transportation planning is to make mobility more pleasant and efficient. Transportation planning, like urban planning, has faced a shift towards more communicative planning practices: community engagement is nowadays often an integral part of transportation planning processes. Why? The public has a lot of relevant knowledge about the problems in their transportation infrastructure and environment.
Digitalization also has opened new possibilities for including participants’ experiences in transportation-related decision-making. When communities play an active role in the development of their environment, planners can ensure that they address the transportation and mobility issues that locals find most relevant.
We asked transportation experts about the benefits of engaging communities with digital mapping (also called public participation GIS or PPGIS) and what they’ve learned from using the Maptionnaire community engagement platform in their transportation and mobility planning projects. Read on for the four most important benefits that we heard.
4 Benefits of online map-based engagement
1. GIS-compatible data from more community members
According to the experts, the greatest benefits of using digital community engagement in transportation planning are the broad reach and the place-based results. Instead of tracking and observing, people can express their views and habits voluntarily in map-based surveys by, for example, drawing routes they use daily and marking important places on a digital map.
It's also easier to reach the broader public using Maptionnaire's online map-based surveys. People can participate whenever and wherever they want, without any group pressure–as is often the case in public meetings. With an online survey, it’s also possible to gain a broader diversity of participants compared to traditional face-to-face meetings.
Read how the City of Copenhagen reached out to its residents when deciding about the placement of EV charging stations. The online map-based survey was so easy to answer and clearly indicated how the residence input would be used. As a result, residents willingly shared the link within their networks.
2. Access to ‘soft data’
By using Maptionnaire, it’s possible to tap into participants’ experiences and ideas--also known as ‘soft data’. This soft data is location-based, GIS-compatible, and well-structured. Participants can draw a simple line to mark new connections (such as a new cycling route), label intersections that they find dangerous, comment on road plans, or suggest improvements to existing transportation services. The collected information is easy to organize and analyze, and hence, easier to utilize in projects.
3. Scalable and customizable participation
The customizability of Maptionnaire's map-based surveys was seen as an asset in transportation planning projects. Creating a survey that caters to the needs of the project will deliver better results. Additionally, the Maptionnaire platform can be used in transportation projects of different scales, such as state-wide transportation visions, citywide infrastructure and mobility planning, or detailed development of specific neighborhoods.
4. More attractive and readable visuals
Visualizations are an important part of delivering information about projects. With Maptionnaire, it’s easy to illustrate ideas, like new road connections and developments in the transportation network. You can simply add your own map layer or shape on top of the map in Maptionnaire. Participants can then mark their likes, dislikes, or comments directly onto the existing plans you’ve added to the survey. It’s also possible to use regular images to ask, for instance, what kind of pedestrian environment the respondents would prefer to see in their neighborhoods.
Top examples of community engagement in transportation planning
Need a little more inspiration to get started with digital participation in your transportation planning projects? In our free on-demand webinar, Inclusive Transportation Planning with Map-based Engagement, you can hear directly from US-based transportation planning consultants who have been successfully using digital tools to engage communities. Their numerous examples include planning better roadways, bikeways, and other transportation infrastructure. And even more good examples of transportation planning and public outreach can be found among our success stories, such as:
- How public officials in Jalisco, Mexico engaged 45,000+ residents in a massive multi-modal corridor project
- How a Finnish transportation authority involved 30,000+ participants in their public transit planning
- How transportation consultants in St. Andrews, UK opened doors to active mobility through digital public engagement
- How planners in the City of Helsinki, Finland collected valuable walkability data by directly asking the public
- How transportation planning consultants in Luxembourg discovered opportunities for sustainable mobility in rural communities
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