An interactive and informative map to support GRAB (Large Ring Road for Bicycles), the alternative mobility project of the city of Rome, conceived and implemented by VeloLove with the active participation of the citizens.
gisAction developed a StoryMap for Velolove Association. It was designed to increase visibility and show in an interactive way the route of the GRAB. Thanks to the StoryMap it is possible to visualize the entire route, get information on the single stages and learn about the historical, architectural and landscape elements that make up the route.
Needs: present the GRAB project in an interactive way
VeloLove conceived and designed the GRAB, a cycle-pedestrian ring that extends for 45 km within the capital. The project involved several institutions, including the Italian Touring Club and Legambiente, and some technical partners who offered their voluntary contribution to the various project phases. A collective work enriched by the ongoing dialogue with citizens through listening and receiving proposals, observations and experiences.
The ultimate goal of the GRAB is to have a powerful impact on the structure of the Roman urban landscape: it is not merely a cycle path, rather it can be considered a road capable of modifying and improving the places it crosses. In this way the GRAB becomes the tool to finally reach the pedestrianization of urban areas, or the creation of the metropolitan green belts, or even the creation of archaeological parks and the enhancement of suburban areas.
The final result, therefore, is a modern infrastructure capable of being an added value for all citizens and to really influencing the urban landscape, restoring physical spaces of the city that are today neglected, abandoned, degraded.
Within this context, VeloLove needed to create informative and interactive maps to promote the project and show the path of the GRAB in relation to the architectural, historical and naturalistic elements that form the background.
Solution: a StoryMap for GRAB
gisAction created a StoryMap in support of the GRAB, thanks to which it was possible to share the entire project online and to ensure the interaction. Ample space was dedicated to navigable and searchable maps, which show the GRAB road for its entire extension, but also offer details about each of the 24 stages of which it is composed.
The ESRI Map Journal template was used for the creation of the StoryMap, customizing it for the graphic aspects according to the customer’s needs. A GIS-based application was also incorporated into the StoryMap to selectively view all the main mobility infrastructures in Rome.
Benefits of the StoryMap
- Online sharing of the project and visibility;
- Improvement of communication skills thanks to the use of maps;
- Visualization of the GRAB path in different scales;
- Greater importance of the project thanks to the possibility of interaction
The GRABbike app
The technological support that GisAction has offered to the GRAB project has continued and, after the StoryMap, has led to the development of the GRABbike application, downloadable for free for all Android users.
The application was born from the need to provide the user with maximum interactivity and technological support. It is an app centered on the map of the GRAB cycle-pedestrian routes and uses the GPS of the smartphone to show in real time the position of the user and the routes of the GRAB; public transport routes are also shown, integrating the cycle-pedestrian route with other forms of urban mobility.
At the same time, the points of interest (POI) along the way such as museums, monuments, parks are also visible. The app, therefore, represents a modern tool to support sustainable mobility, with a focus on the promotion of cultural and landscape peculiarities of the territory.
GRAB at GISday
Alberto Fiorillo spoke about the importance of GIS in the development of the GRAB project at GISday 2021, the annual event organized by gisAction and Regione Umbria to celebrate geospatial technologies and geographic culture.
