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Data on pedestrian infrastructure is essential for improving the mobility environment and for planning efficiency. Although governmental agencies are responsible for capturing data on pedestrian infrastructure mostly by field audits, most have not completed such audits. In recent years, virtual auditing based on street view imagery (SVI), specifically through geo-crowdsourcing platforms, offers a more inclusive approach to pedestrian movement planning, but concerns about the quality and reliability of opensource geospatial data pose barriers to use by governments. Limited research has compared opensource data in relation to traditional government approaches. In this study, we compare pedestrian infrastructure data from an opensource virtual sidewalk audit platform (Project Sidewalk) with government data. We focus on neighborhoods with diverse walkability and income levels in the city of Seattle, Washington and in DuPage County, Illinois. Our analysis shows that Project Sidewalk data can be a reliable alternative to government data for most pedestrian infrastructure features. The agreement for different features ranges from 75% for pedestrian signals to complete agreement (100%) for missing sidewalks. However, variations in measuring the severity of barriers challenges dataset comparisons. 

Public artwork, from vibrant wall murals to captivating sculptures, can enhance the aesthetic of urban spaces, foster a sense of community and cultural identity, and help attract visitors. Despite its benefits, most public art is visual, making it often inaccessible to blind and low vision (BLV) people. In this workshop paper, we first draw on art literature to help define the space of public art, identify key differences with curated art shown in museums or galleries, and discuss implications for accessibility. We then enumerate how existing art accessibility techniques may (or may not) transfer to urban art spaces. We close by presenting future research directions and reflecting on the growing role of AI in making art accessible. 

Geovisualizations are powerful tools for exploratory spatial analysis, enabling sighted users to discern patterns, trends, and relationships within geographic data. However, these visual tools have remained largely inaccessible to screen-reader users. We introduce AltGeoViz, a new interactive geovisualization approach that dynamically generates alt-text descriptions based on the user’s current map view, providing voiceover summaries of spatial patterns and descriptive statistics. In a remote user study with five screenreader users, we found that participants were able to interact with spatial data in previously infeasible ways, demonstrated a clear understanding of data summaries and their location context, and could synthesize spatial understandings of their explorations. Moreover, we identified key areas for improvement, such as the addition of spatial navigation controls and comparative analysis features 

Despite decades of effort, pedestrian infrastructure in cities continues to be unsafe or inaccessible to people with disabilities. In this paper, we examine the potential of community-driven digital civics to assess sidewalk accessibility through a deployment study of an open-source crowdsourcing tool called Project Sidewalk. We explore Project Sidewalk’s potential as a platform for civic learning and service. Specifically, we assess its effectiveness as a tool for community members to learn about human mobility, urban planning, and accessibility advocacy. Our findings demonstrate that community-driven digital civics can support accessibility advocacy and education, raise community awareness, and drive pro-social behavioral change. We also outline key considerations for deploying digital civic tools in future community-led accessibility initiatives.