The objectives of the Geo 599 Group Project were to-

Gather information (including interviews)

Build a rich web site (this content management system)

Present results as a group

And identify three (of six available) objectives to orient the project. We chose to:

1. Propose a strategy for soliciting "local knowledge" about a given land management issue.

We did this by identifying major actors for parking on campus, covering a large variety of community, campus, and enforcement agencies. In addition, many of their views were collected and turned into a parking alternatives page viewable here.
In the future, we suggest the following methods for facilitating local knowledge:
- Organizing and facilitating community forums
- Create awareness by posting fliers throughout the community to announce community forums related to parking issues on campus.
- Creation of partnerships via coalition-building efforts
- Surveys of public opinion
- Using knowledge of campus initiatives on other university campuses
- Online user polls and blogs
- Through the use of campus/local media
- Op-ed pages in local newspapers
- Popular web-based forums and outlets, (myspace, facebook)

3. Explain how, and how well, local knowledge may be represented in a GIS.

We did this by collecting parking related GIS datasets and provided a how-to guide as to how they can be utilized by the public. You can view this here.

6. Explain how citizen participation improves local government planning processes and outcomes.

Due to increasing demand and limited supply, Oregon State University is facing a parking crunch. The OSU community has begun to experience the consequences of limited space, resulting in several proposals from the University Parking Committee to expand parking facilities. SPEW believes that addressing the parking issue on the OSU campus can be facilitated through the use of spatial data. Using GIS and visual data allows stakeholders to identify, isolate, and address problems more effectively. In addition, spatial data can be used by stakeholder groups to influence policy outcomes. A very important preliminary step is community awareness.

To facilitate community awareness, we have created a website that not only includes spatial representations, but also creates space for forums of shared public knowledge. This shared knowledge comes in the form of interactive mapping that allows community members to pinpoint problem areas, or acknowledge potential parking space or parking alternatives. It also comes in the form of interactive commentary. Our website provides a space where community members can share local knowledge about parking related issues and parking alternatives. Personal experience and expertise is a welcome addition to our effort to consolidate informative parking-related resources.

Local knowledge about parking issues on campus can be represented in a GIS. We use layers of data provided by Transit and Parking Services to represent parking availability on campus. Parking lots and spaces are color-coded based on use for students, staff, guests, etc. to allow stakeholders to be aware of the parking facilities available to them. Our link to Google Earth allows interested community members to see themselves and their commuting alternatives in a context that includes all of the campus parking facilities.

Citizen participation in the planning and outcomes of future parking policy is integral to its success. Many different groups have stake in the outcomes, and policy should be representative of these various interests. Those residing in neighborhoods around campus, faculty, and staff are relatively static populations with different parking needs and demands. Students, however, are temporary residents who purchase an education from the university and require parking space as well. The needs and demands of these major stakeholder groups can be integrated and met. Efficient and successful policy can only result if the community is knowledgeable and thus able to participate. Ultimately, this public participation should lead to a community-wide decision. The process should be represented by a broad spectrum of the community to engender positive results, since successful policy hangs in the balance of acceptance and participation.

Spatial data assists this goal by making parking information more accessible as a visual aid. It also exists as a tool that can be used to represent a specific set of ideas from a particular interest group. The use of spatial data in planning processes is particularly effective as it allows groups to pinpoint issues to a heightened level of specificity. It allows information to be a small-scale visual representation of a potentially broad social issue.