Differences in Perspectives between Facility Managers and Crowd Workers in Accessibility Mapping

Abstract

This study compared an official accessibility map and a crowdsourced accessibility map for a university campus to identify differences between the two types of maps. By conducting a comprehensive analysis of the responses from the official map creator and accessibility problems reported by 35 crowd workers, we provided the following four suggestions: S1, it is desirable to avoid omitting the creation of official maps and to allow both types of maps to coexist; S2, it would be desirable for various stakeholders to participate as crowd workers in reporting accessibility problems; S3, problems along the routes leading to building entrances could be supplemented through crowdsourcing; and S4, dynamically changing accessibility problems could be captured through crowdsourcing. These suggestions based on detailed comparisons contribute to the improvement of both official and crowdsourced accessibility mapping.