It’s spring time and time to be outside with family and friends. Start the warm season with a mapping tour – rate places on wheelmap.org and roll out accessibility in your neighborhood!
#MapMyHood 2022
How wheelchair accessible is your neighborhood? We invite you to participate in a big spring crowdsourcing event: You know the places in your immediate neighborhood and you can use your knowledge to help many people make their everyday lives easier – by entering on Wheelmap.org which stores, bars, public toilets, restaurants, etc. are accessible without steps and which are not. Wheelmap.org is the online map for wheelchair accessible places. Since 2010, we have collected 3.2 million entries together with the community. But there are still many places without a rating. We can change that together! Help us and bring Wheelmap to your neighborhood!
This is how you can join #MapMyhood
Watch the video tutorial (see below) if you want to know more about Wheelmap, its features, and how mapping places with Wheelmap.org works.
Grab your mobile phone and scan the QR code. Alternatively, just open a browser window on your phone and type in wheelmap.org/mmn22.
After the re-direct into the app and after the welcome screen, click on the ‘participate’ button. You are then checked in for the mapping event.
Find places nearby that are still grey and rate them, or rate the bathroom of the place, or upload photos of entrances. You can also add new places and give more information on accessibility also for people with seeing and hearing impairments.
wheelmap.org/mmn22
In a 20 minutes video tutorial, you’ll learn all necessary details, what Wheelmap.org is, how you can use it and how you can contribute with your own #MapMyHood mapping tour.
What is a mapping tour?
Wheelmap.org is the online map for wheelchair accessible places that everyone can join. You can start your own tour in your neighborhood to see which places near you don’t have a rating yet, i.e. are still shown as gray. These can be stores, cafes and restaurants, but also places outside like bus stops, subway entrances, parking lots, etc. Go to the first gray place that is shown on the map near you. Are there steps at the entrance and inside? Or other barriers that impede access for people with wheelchairs, walkers, or strollers? Or is the place level for all to use? Take a look, use the tape measure if you’re not sure, talk to the people who run the place if necessary; with the help of Wheelmap.org’s simple criteria and traffic light system, you can quickly give the place the right color on the map. After you have rated a place, you can move directly to the next gray pin near you.
Photos of entrances and bathrooms and the rating of bathrooms are also important and are still missing for many places that are already rated. You can also add places from scratch.
With your tour, you can explore your neighborhood from a whole new perspective while helping to make your neighborhood accessible to all. Depending on your mood, you can take your tour alone or arrange to meet up with friends.
Why is this mapping tour useful?
Accessibility info
Over 15% of the world's population has a disability. Information on accessibility is very important for this group of people and at the same time difficult to find. With Wheelmap.org we want to close the information gap on accessibility.
Joint commitment & impact
Mapping in a group with like-minded people is fun! Use this activity to connect with other participants and your neighborhood for a good cause. Together you are strong and you can have positive impact!
Visibility
With Wheelmap.org and the accessibility information we collect at #MapMyHood, accessible and inaccessible public places become visible. This is the first step in drawing attention to what needs to be changed.
FAQ
Here you will find answers to your questions about the mapping tour.
We recommend that you plan 1.5-2 hours for your tour in the neighborhood. Try to rate or edit at least 10 locations. Only then will you really get into the mapping flow. If you registered for the video tutorial, it is best to block 2 hours time after watching.
Photos of entrances and the rating of bathrooms are also important and are still missing for many places that are already rated. You can also add places from scratch. Alternatively, you can start your tour in the closest shopping area nearby.
In the 20 minutes video, we briefly introduce Wheelmap, go into some background facts and the key features of the web app. Afterwards you’ll check in to the right event using the link and QR code we’ll send you. After that, you’re ready to get started, alone or with neighbors or friends and family.
- Send us an e-mail with the subject “Video tutorial #mapmyhood” and you’ll receive a link to the video and two handouts.
- Alternatively, you can mark the date of the availability of the video directly in your calendar: you’ll find an update there with the link on May, 20.
There are over one billion people with disabilities worldwide. Many of them use a wheelchair. For them, steps are the biggest barrier to being part of public social life. You don’t meet with friends for a coffee because you don’t know where the next café without a step at the entrance is? Wheelmap.org wants to change this situation and relies on the local knowledge of the crowd – and you can join in! With the information you contribute, the online map grows and you actively help people with wheelchairs, walkers and families with strollers to better plan their daily lives.
Both! All can contribute their knowledge about wheelchair accessibility of places on Wheelmap.org.
Depending on your mood, you can do the tour alone or arrange to meet up with friends. Together you can systematically cover a complete area. However, keep an eye on the Corona rules that apply to you: for example, observe the face mask, vaccination and distance rules when you enter a store, etc. Otherwise, there are many outdoor places you can rate, such as parking lots, bus stops, playgrounds. Decide for yourself how you want to design your tour!
Handouts for Download
Download and print out our sheets with all general information for mappers on how to map places.
