Poster 20-25

Virtual Public Involvement (VPI): Guidance for Encouraging Public Participation and Soliciting Feedback During the Transportation Planning Process

PI: Baabak Ashuri

Co-PI(s): Gordon Kingsley

Institution(s): Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract

In transportation planning and decision-making processes, public involvement (PI) is critical as the daily users of transportation share useful insights, opinions, and observations on the performance and needs of the transportation systems. Virtual Public Involvement (VPI) is the use of digital technology to engage individuals in project planning and decision making. It is intended to supplement face-to-face information sharing with virtual tools, and thus broaden existing approaches to public involvement to include more voices. The overarching objectives of this research were to gather and evaluate information on existing approaches to VPI and to provide recommendations for the development of a single-platform VPI environment on ArcGIS Hub that encourages widespread participation, facilitates two-way communication, and integrates VPI requirements into an inter- office, cradle-to-grave VPI process. The literature review provides examples of public participation design and key factors that contribute to the successful acceptance of VPI by the public. A review of GDOT practice identified the tasks, challenges, and goals for VPI by project phase and department and identified gaps in existing practice. A review of the community of practice was compiled to provide approaches to key tasks necessary for the design, implementation, and institutionalization of VPI across the country. Finally, 11 recommendations for institutionalizing VPI at GDOT were provided.

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