In 2015, the West Colfax Business Improvement District teamed with Radian | Placematters and other partners to launch “Re-Imagine West Colfax”—a process to engage neighborhood residents, gather data on first and final mile infrastructure and then test and prioritize improvements. One effort focused on the West Colfax Business Improvement District, where Placematters used a mobile app called WALKscope and a series of WalkShops (walking workshops) to crowdsource data and ideas from residents. After analyzing the data, they organized a design charrette to develop potential improvements. Finally, they showcased pop-up versions of those improvements in a public event, where more than 600 people gave input and helped prioritize permanent changes.

Produced for Opportunity360 by PlaceMatters, with support from Enterprise Community Partners and The National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland.