[H-TT15] Geographic Information Systems and Cartography

[HTT15-P09] Promotion of Barrier-free Environment through Participatory GIS: A Case Study of Tactile Paving Mapping Project in Kita-ku, Tokyo

*Masahiro Tanaka¹ (1.Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo)

Keywords:participatory GIS, barrier-free, visually impaired people, tactile paving, public participation

With the global spread of the concept of barrier-free (accessible) design, various efforts have been made to create environments that facilitate the mobility and accessibility of people with physical disabilities, and various devices such as ramps and elevators have been installed in buildings and on roads. In Japan, tactile paving—a system of textured ground surface to assist the mobility of visually impaired people—is particularly ubiquitous. Tactile paving, developed by Seiichi Miyake in Okayama Prefecture in the 1960s, spread throughout Japan with the enactment of laws on barrier-free access in the 1990s and thereafter. However, more than 60 years after its development, various problems with tactile paving have emerged, including deterioration, damage, and improper installation methods. The problems are caused by (1) the lack of participation of visually impaired people in the management process of tactile paving and (2) the lack of information (geographic data) on where, how, and to what extent tactile paving is being laid. Hence, since 2015, the author has been working on the Tactile Paving Mapping Project (TPMP) in Kita-ku, Tokyo, together with a non-profit organization (NPO) run by visually impaired people. This project is a participatory GIS (PGIS)—an activity that is led by citizens, not geographic information science professionals, aimed at achieving social and political participation using GIS. This study considers the possibilities and challenges of barriers-free improvement through PGIS, based on the results of TPMP conducted from 2015 to 2023.

The TPMP is being conducted by the NPO, residents of Kita-ku, and the administration of Kita-ku. In this project, the NPO, in cooperation with residents, conducted a field survey on the status of tactile paving installed on public roads in Kita-ku and created a geographic database using Google Maps API. The database records data on the location, number, color, management development, and deficiencies of tactile paving. Visually impaired people always participate in the field survey, and the database reflects their opinions—data registration is done by sighted people. The recorded data can be displayed on Google Maps. This allows the user to see where, how, and to what extent tactile paving is being laid. The administration of Kita-ku can use this as a reference for maintenance and new installation of tactile paving.

The TPMP is leading to improvements in tactile paving through spatial and cartographic visualization of tactile paving installation and by soliciting the opinions of visually impaired people. The implications of this project are both technical—preparing data on tactile paving—and social: (1) citizens can learn about the current situation of their own community, and (2) the disabled and the able-bodied can understand each other. However, the project faces issues related to "public participation." In particular, (1) citizens participate almost exclusively in the data collection and cannot analyze the data because of their lack of GIS skills, and (2) citizens are able to become just a contractor for the government's work, and their independence is at risk of being undermined. These issues need to be examined in terms of the "ladder of participation," "hierarchy of hacking," and "shadow state" as studies on PGIS have noted.