WHat is commonpaths

Built with the convergence of credible data in mind, CommonPaths enriches pathway data by integrating data from the crowdsourced and community data-governed OpenStreetMap, calculating the slope gradient from USGS Digital Elevation Model, and reviewing it using a field assessment mobile app. Data collected and distributed via the CommonPaths application can serve as the basis for automated accessibility condition analysis across an entire region, pedestrian network connectivity analysis for a variety of user mobility conditions, and provide granular and automated pedestrian pathway navigation instructions similar to what vehicle experience today through in-vehicle GPS units. 

CommonPaths overcomes the “siloing” of pedestrian data by leveraging OpenStreetMap and realizing collaboration between the public and public agencies.  It enables jurisdictions and agencies to integrate proprietary or sensitive data into a single framework that seamlessly assimilates input from the public, as they report a change in conditions or new conditions emerge. This ensures that all participants in the system and the general public benefit from the others’ efforts, thereby eliminating redundant data collection by overlapping jurisdictions and providing immediate value for the public through regular updates to the core dataset: OpenStreetMaps. At its core, this system is allowing the flow from community collected and validated data to the pathway program and field-validated pathway program data back to the public for validation.