Visually map people's level of comfort travelling on local streets
With a large printed base map, allow participants to trace routes that they frequently travel in the neighbourhood. Use green, yellow, and red markers to let people indicate how comfortable or safe they feel on different parts of the route (see the sample map and key in the Resources section of this website). Use tracing papers over the base-map so each person’s feedback is individually captured, but so that people can still see emerging patterns. Allow residents to also write specific information about why they feel safe or unsafe on their route.
After you’re done collecting feedback with this tool, you can construct a visual map of which routes feel safe, and which do not. Depending on how many people indicated that a particular road was safe or unsafe, you can use thicker or thinner lines to colour in roads. This map shows where there are infrastructure gaps, and can help narrow down areas of focus for design solutions.
- Use this tool often! The more times people engage with it, the clearer the patterns will become.