Communities know their streets need change but have no way to independently create the technical maps that city planners need to move projects forward.
We're developing a free and open-source platform where community members can propose and vote on bike lane, sidewalk, roadway, parking, and greenway improvements following NYC Street Design Manual guidelines.
Each proposal generates downloadable design drawings and maps from community-driven input that anyone can submit to DOT, share with community boards, or use for local organizing.
The Desire Path Mapper is our interactive demo for community-driven street redesign. It lets users draw proposed infrastructure changes directly onto a map, placing bike lanes, sidewalks, greenways, and other streetscape elements on real city streets. Community members can sketch out the changes they want to see in their neighborhoods, vote on proposals from others, and generate shareable design maps that follow established urban planning guidelines. The tool turns local knowledge about where people actually walk, bike, and need safer infrastructure into the kind of technical visual proposals that city agencies can act on.
Eric Bolton is a software engineer specializing in data visualization, collaborative platforms, and community consensus tools.
Brook Constantz is an urban ecologist with a background in forest restoration, geographic information systems, and green infrastructure.
