[community] Fwd: Introducing Project Sidewalk: Creating a more accessible world

Thu Jul 20 15:08:43 UTC 2017

Another component of the accessible mapping efforts.

Jutta

Begin forwarded message:

From: Project Sidewalk Team <makeability.sidewalk at gmail.com<mailto:makeability.sidewalk at gmail.com>>
Subject: Introducing Project Sidewalk: Creating a more accessible world
Date: July 20, 2017 at 11:00:47 AM EDT
To: <jtreviranus at faculty.ocadu.ca<mailto:jtreviranus at faculty.ocadu.ca>>
Reply-To: <makeability.sidewalk at gmail.com<mailto:makeability.sidewalk at gmail.com>>

[https://gallery.mailchimp.com/329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5/images/2e5fb728-dac7-4f30-86b8-51fa6a83bec0.png]

Let's create a more accessible world

Hi Jutta. We are researchers at the University of Maryland developing new scalable methods for mapping urban accessibility. As someone who does research in accessibility, we thought you might be interested in our new tool Project Sidewalk<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=664713f4b8&e=7e53ae148f>.

[A screenshot of the Project Sidewalk interface showing a labeled curb ramp in the heart of DC] <http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=2bdb845d6f&e=7e53ae148f>
Help improve Washington DC's sidewalks by virtually exploring the city in Project Sidewalk.

Introducing Project Sidewalk

Project Sidewalk<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=c44eec7585&e=7e53ae148f>  enables anyone—from motivated citizens to government workers—to virtually walk through cities to help locate, label, and assess sidewalks. User-contributed labels are shared with local governments and used to model and predict sidewalk problems using machine learning.
[Screenshot of sidewalk surface problems, obstacles and missing curb ramps identified using out tool]
Example sidewalk problems found in DC with our tool

[Map showing a 527 mile long route from DC to Detroit]

Together, We Are Making a Difference

Since our Washington DC beta launch in fall 2016, over 600 users have contributed 75,000 labels across 527 miles of DC streets—that’s nearly 50% of the city (and the distance from DC to Detroit).

This unprecedented data allows for new ways of understanding and analyzing city accessibility and enables new types of accessibility-aware mapping tools such as geographic heatmaps that highlight inaccessible areas at a glance and smart navigation tools that adapt routes based on a user’s specified mobility level. And all of our data (and source code<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=d66019e4a1&e=7e53ae148f>) is completely open, so it's easy for you to build your own applications or perform your own analyses with our data. See: http://projectsidewalk.io/api<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=9e7af35240&e=7e53ae148f> for details.

Help Us Reach 100%

But we are not done. Our goal is 100% DC coverage and to expand into five more cities by the end of 2017. To help us get there, we are proud to announce a new version of Project Sidewalk<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=761f19eded&e=7e53ae148f> that makes it easier and faster to explore DC neighborhoods and find sidewalk problems! Try it out by clicking the 'Start Mapping!' button below. You can also help out by sharing this email with your colleagues, students, family, and friends and by retweeting this tweet<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=e281a0434c&e=7e53ae148f>!
[Map of DC showing neighborhoods colored by percentage of streets audited by Project Sidewalk volunteers]
DC neighborhoods colored by completion rates.

Let's make the world more accessible
one curb ramp at a time.
Five minutes of your day could make someone else's.

Start Mapping Now!<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=7e92e3909b&e=7e53ae148f>

Project Sidewalk is a research project at the University of Maryland.
Thank you for participating.

[Project Sidewalk Twitter account]<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=b40d373f33&e=7e53ae148f>
[GitHub repository for Project Sidewalk]<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=fd41b01707&e=7e53ae148f>
[YouTube]<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=a3e70b9c54&e=7e53ae148f>
[Project Sidewalk Email]<mailto:makeability.sidewalk at gmail.com>

This email was sent to jtreviranus at faculty.ocadu.ca<mailto:jtreviranus at faculty.ocadu.ca>
why did I get this?<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/about?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=4bee33c651&e=7e53ae148f&c=365cf3ce7a>    unsubscribe from this list<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=4bee33c651&e=7e53ae148f&c=365cf3ce7a>    update subscription preferences<http://projectsidewalk.us16.list-manage.com/profile?u=329342c7c2ff9fd07f2d203d5&id=4bee33c651&e=7e53ae148f>
Makeability Lab, University of Maryland, College Park · 2117 Hornbake Bldg · South Wing · College Park, MD 20742 · USA

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