Online tools for IRL amateurbanism

These resources have helped me improve my advocacy and professional work related to the built environment.

When I worked as a corporate consultant, I had access to all sorts of enterprise software packages that would’ve been cost prohibitive to most people, but that didn’t stop me from trying out free programs. Especially if it meant I could dabble in someone else’s area of expertise without getting permission for a software seat license.

If you’re an armchair urbanist or moonlight as a community activist, you know how important it is to maximize your impact with limited time. I’ve been there, I’m still there, and I can help. There’s a treasure trove of free web tools online related to urbanism. I don’t know of anyone using all of these all the time, but I use some of these every week. Use these resources to demonstrate expertise in your amateurbanism work.

“Amateurbanism” is not a dig at people who aren’t working professionally in planning, design, or engineering. As someone who gets paid to plan and implement great street networks for all ages and abilities, I want amateur urbanists to be equipped for conversations and presentations about creating happy, healthy communities.

Google Maps

Every earthling has used Google products, and the satellite views and street views are great ways to ground a conversation about project sites and travel routes. I find that a lot of people don’t realize Google Maps has drawing tools, so you can illustrate proposed locations for community gardens, protected bike lanes, festival street closure areas, etc. This is ideal for location-based projects.

Google Earth

Google Earth brings in the 3D visualization of terrain and buildings. You can model things like where a new playground structure could fit in a park, granny flat additions in backyards, or simulate the changes brought by a proposed rezoning. The measurements also help with space planning.

OpenStreetMap

Anyone can add overlooked details like accessibility obstacles, safety concerns, parking availability, EV charging infrastructure, and much more to OpenStreetMap. This is a great tool to engage your email list, organization members, or friends. Your team can generate maps that reflect your knowledge and pro-community bias.

Streetmix

Streetmix is collaborative street design between residents and city planners. You can model traffic calming measures, sidewalk expansions, and storefront space. If it’s a great neighborhood street idea, it’s designable in Streetmix.

• highway lighting vs. pedestrian lighting

• sharrows vs. bike lanes

• multiuse paths vs. sidewalk/bike lane combos

• right-sized vehicle lanes vs. deadly-sized vehicle lanes

I can’t overhype Streetmix. They make it shockingly simple to expose the silliness of DOTs while inspiring alternatives to the same old junk infrastructure.

Canva

Canva turns you into a professional designer. Their templates, graphics, and text options are more than you’ll ever need for slide decks, reports, social media content, and memes. Use Canva for outreach campaigns, events, ideas, and causes. In fact, stop reading this post, open Canva, and make something.

Travel Time Map

How far can you go in X minutes? What if you’re riding a bike instead of driving? There are several of these free travel time map tools, but the core idea is the same. Let’s say you work in economic development and you want to see what visitors to Richmond, VA can discover within a 15-minute ride of Main Street Station using bike share. Easy peasy. You can add shapes for different modes and trip times. It’s a great way to visualize what’s within reach when getting around town using the bus or a bike.

Envision Tomorrow

This is a scenario planning tool funded by HUD. It models the impacts of growth and development scenarios on factors like land consumption, transportation habits, greenhouse gases, and affordability. If you’re comfortable with Google Maps, you’ll be fine here. You might use Envision Tomorrow to analyze or critique a zoning ordinance, downtown revitalization plan, or transportation plan.

Walk Score

You’ve probably heard of the site that evaluates neighborhood walkability based on proximity to everyday destinations. (They also include bike and transit scores.) This helps assess site accessibility when reviewing development proposals to advocate for community needs like locating affordable housing near transit. But it’s also a great conversation-starter at a county/city level. Realtors love this reference and so should you.

SketchUp

SketchUp is a powerful 3D modeling tool, but does have a learning curve. I’ve seen it used for park proposals and streetscape ideas for public meetings. But my favorite is when developers use it to illustrate the not-too-scary density of commercial buildings and multifamily housing.

Alright, go out there and digitize your urbanism ideas.