Individual neighborhoods within large cities can benefit from independent analysis of public data in the context of ongoing efforts to improve the community. Yet existing tools for public data analysis and visualization are often mismatched to community needs, for reasons including geographic granularity that does not correspond to community boundaries, siloed data sets, inaccurate assumptions about data literacy, and limited user input in design and implementation phases. In Atlanta this need is being addressed through a Data Dashboard developed under the auspices of the Westside Communities Alliance (WCA), a partnership between Georgia Tech and community stakeholders. In this paper we present an interactive analytic and visualization tool for public safety data within the WCA Data Dashboard. We describe a human-centered approach to understand the needs of users and to build accessible mapping tools for visualization and analysis. The tools include a variety of overlays that allow users to spatially correlate features of the built environment, such as vacant properties with criminal activity as well as crime prevention efforts. We are in the final stages of developing the first version of the tool, with plans for a public release in fall of 2016.
The idea of talking to users to elicit their needs is not a new one, and has been formalized into a general set of principles under Human User Centered Design, User Driven Development, and Participatory Design @cite_2 . While the specific methods employed depend on the domain and the kinds of users, the general idea is to talk with community members early in the design process to determine their needs via focus groups, interviews, or site visits. User-centered design is well-suited for PPGIS, and provides a framework for establishing the needs of community members in learning about and utilizing GIS within the context of neighborhood planning @cite_3 . The WCA has been working with the Westside community for years, and is well versed with the needs of the community. Our weekly meetings with them helped us better understand the people and data we were working with and also prioritize the features we hoped to include.
@cite_3 @cite_2
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Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) is a field of research that, among other things, focuses on the use of GIS by non-experts and occasional users. These users tend to have a diverse range of computer literacy, world views, cultural backgrounds and knowledge. These aspects require that the systems used within PPGIS are accessible and easy to use. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and the related usability evaluation techniques focus on how to make computer systems more accessible, while focusing on user needs and requirements. Thus, the synergy between PPGIS and HCI seems natural. In this paper, we discuss the aspects of this synergy, building on our experience from three workshops. We demonstrate how usability evaluation can contribute to PPGIS research, and how PPGIS research can contribute to the HCI aspects of GIS in general. We conclude this paper with a call for a user-centred design approach to PPGIS projects. Preface. 1. Participatory Design: An introduction by Toni Robertson and Jesper Simonsen Section I: Participatory Design - Contributions and Challenges 2. Heritage: Having a Say by Finn Kensing and Joan Greenbaum 3. Design: Design Matters in Participatory Design by Liam Bannon and Pelle Ehn 4. Ethics: Engagement, Representation and Politics-In-Action by Toni Robertson and Ina Wagner 5. Ethnography: Positioning Ethnographic within Participatory Design by Jeanette Blomberg and Helena Karasti 6. Methods: Organizing Principles and General Guidelines for Participatory Design Projects by Tone Bratteteig, Keld Bodker, Yvonne Dittrich, Preben Mogensen, and Jesper Simonsen 7. Tools and Techniques: Ways to Engage Telling, Making and Enacting by Eva Brandt, Thomas Binder and Elizabeth Sanders 8. Communities: Participatory Design For, With, and By Communities by Carl DiSalvo, Andrew Clement and Volkmar Pipek Section II: Outstanding Applications of Participatory Design 9. Global Fund for Women: Integrating Participatory Design into everyday work at a global non-profit by Randy Trigg and Karen Ishimaru 10. Health Information Systems Program: Participatory design within the HISP network by Jorn Braa and Sundeep Sahay 11. ACTION for Health: Influencing Technology Design, Practice and Policy Through Participatory Design by Ellen Balka