National (Accessible) Trails!
On 3rd September 2015 Hannah posted in Events, Featured, News
Summer is coming to an end: the days are getting shorter, umbrellas are whizzing off the shelves, and small streams are forming alongside every pavement. What better time to contemplate walking in our beautiful natural landscapes?! The National Trails stretch across 2,500 miles of England and Wales, and they’re waiting to be enjoyed by everyone, whatever the weather. However, a lack of information about accessibility on the National Trails means that many people with limited mobility are unable to make the most of them, come rain or shine. We’re working with the National Trails and Walk Unlimited to promote walking for people with limited mobility, by collecting information about accessibility along the trails.
Southend-on-Sea: The Walking Journals
On 20th July 2015 Hannah posted in Events, News
Sun, sea and busy dual carriageways: an update on our community engagement in Southend-on-Sea, for the interdisciplinary research project, Street Mobility and Network Accessibility.
Co-Designing Mobile Accessibility App
On 30th June 2015 Louise posted in Featured, News
On 19th June the MyAccessible.EU team from Mapping for Change teamed up with members from UCL ExCiteS research group, Ross Akin, an accessibility designer, Dr Catherine Holloway and Sarah Nicholson from UCL’s CEGE Dept., and users of the Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation Mobility Centre for a day long workshop. The idea was to co-design a mobile application that could enable users to identify and map barriers to accessibility within the urban realm using Sapelli; a mobile data collection and sharing platform designed with a particular focus on users with little or no prior ICT experience. Sapelli offers pictorial decision trees and icon-driven interfaces as opposed to the forms and check boxes traditionally used in many mobile apps.
10 Communities Begin NO2 Monitoring
On 24th June 2015 Hannah posted in Uncategorised
London’s air pollution is a pertinent, under-acknowledged, and often shocking issue. Many communities are taking it into their own hands to discover just how polluted their local area is, by conducting Citizen Science initiatives to measure levels of nitrogen dioxide. Last night, 10 new community groups from across London ventured into UCL to collect monitoring equipment, and begin their collective local action.
Access: going beyond ramps
On 8th June 2015 Hannah posted in Featured
Accessibility. 6 syllables. Many more benefits for cities.
When many people imagine physical ‘accessibility’ in the urban context, what typically springs to mind is an assortment of glamorous and exciting objects: sloping ramps, roll-in lifts, maybe even dropped kerbs. True, these objects aren’t entirely fascinating, but they are undoubtedly crucial for inclusive, accessible cities. Thankfully this blog isn’t about dropped kerbs. Instead, it focuses on why we should all be championing accessibility. The reason? There are many unexpected environmental and economic benefits for doing so.
Community Air Quality Monitoring – Funding Available
On 2nd June 2015 Hannah posted in Events, Featured, News
Mapping for Change can now enable up to four communities to undertake Air Quality Mapping projects by offering them a share of £1,000 funding. Proposals are invited from communities across London. The funds will cover the cost of purchasing diffusion tubes to measure nitrogen dioxide (NO2), laboratory analysis, and map creation. There is a strong likelihood of media coverage throughout the project.
UCL: Access Denied
On 22nd May 2015 Julius posted in News
Last night, months of anticipation came to an end, and Mapping for Change navigated their way to the alien territory of Roberts’ Engineering building for a very exciting launch party. The cause? UCL: Access Denied – a ground-breaking documentary produced by UCLU Disabled Students to highlight accessibility problems around Campus.
Sun, Sea and Southend’s Main Roads
On 26th March 2015 Hannah posted in Featured, News
The boom in British road construction during the early twentieth century envisaged a better-connected future. However, busy roads can also confine and restrict us. On Monday, Mapping for Change met our Street Mobility project partners at Liverpool Street. We jumped on a train to Southend Victoria to continue our work on main roads; specifically, the negative physical and psychological impact of major arterial roads on older people.
Return of the Tubes: Communities Await Air Quality Results
On 18th March 2015 Hannah posted in Featured, News
In February, Mapping for Change equipped four community groups with all the materials needed to measure Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in their local areas. One month and four Citizen Science initiatives later, and the data from Clean Air in London’s air quality monitoring projects has been returned for analysis.
Housing, Regeneration and Community Consultation: Map Based Solutions
On 16th March 2015 Hannah posted in News
This information sheet has been developed to highlight the way in which local councils can utilise a map-based ICT service to deliver positive outcomes for its customers in relation to housing and regeneration consultations. This document sets out an outline of the services offered by Mapping for Change, a social enterprise owned by University College London.
The rate of change in ICT is rapid and growth in the uptake of technologies such as mobile devices, social media, high-speed broadband and open data, presents huge opportunities for the council. The new technologies being deployed and adopted by the public sector are bringing in new, innovative ways in which citizens and businesses interact with public authorities; new ways of working for administrations themselves; and providing new business opportunities.