U. extends deadline for feedback through campus mapping app

The University extended the deadline late last week for community members to use the campus mapping tool Campus Compass from May 14 to the first week of June.

The Office of the University Architect launched the online app in an effort to gather University-wide feedback for the Princeton University 2026 Campus Plan.

The interactive mapping tool asks respondents to map how they experience, use and travel around campus. Questions range from activity-specific locations to most commonly-used routes, and each question has users identify campus hotspots with icons that represent extracurricular activities, eateries and group study and relaxation spots.

Once users have dropped an icon on a campus building or created a mark on the mapping space, they can input a corresponding comment to identify problems or offer possible solutions.

Associate University Architect for Planning Natalie Shivers said the campus planning team developed the application with Urban Strategies, a Toronto-based design consulting firm assisting the University in its short- and long-term campus plan.

The University is still in the earliest part of its campus planning.

In contrast to the previous campus plan for 2006-2016 now nearing completion, University Architect Ronald McCoy GS ’80 said that Campus Compass was an important addition to the planning process for 2026 and beyond.

“One of the things that we’re doing differently this time is to try to capture more data, particularly from the users of the campus," McCoy said. "The traditional way of designing is to have the designers make observations and draw conclusions and make recommendations based on those observations. But by asking all the different constituencies — students, faculty, staff, alumni and the local community — to participate in this tool, we’re not just relying on ourselves to make observations."

Undergraduate Student Government president Ella Cheng ’16, who will soon release a video campaign to increase student engagement, said the opinions of current undergraduates matter because there is no better constituency to provide feedback on the issue of campus planning.

“We’re in every dorm, we’re in every study and common area, eating area, and only we really have that information,” Cheng said. “So if we don’t share that information when they push out this effort, then the University may go awry in pursuing this campus plan. They’re going to miss a lot of really important hot spots and hot topics to address.”

Cheng is a former staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.

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Cheng said she beta-tested Campus Compass prior to its general launch.

“Another [question] is, what spaces do you most like to study in or like to socialize in?" Cheng said. "They’re really trying to find these hot spots on campus where a lot of activity of a certain kind occurs. They’ve got a really cool interface for it and I think they did a really good job."

Stephanie Velazquez ’15, an architecture major, said the decision to engage undergraduate students in the planning process was a good idea, though she was unsure what purpose the mapping tool was intended to achieve. The current campus layout is especially unaccommodating for biking, Velazquez added.

“You see a lot of desire lines around, which is when you have a set pathway and you’ll have … this spot in the grass because that’s where everyone is going through," Velazquez said. "I feel like there are a lot of places like this on campus — where you have a huge green area that you’re supposed to walk around when it’s so much more convenient to cut through."

There are also versions of Campus Compass for alumni and town members, which are still in the beta-testing stage, Shivers said, which contributed to the extension.

Warren Price, a representative of Urban Strategies Inc. working with the University, said campus planning at the University has been enjoyable to work on.

“What is really exciting for us is Princeton’s commitment to the planning process," Price said. "They take the process as a work extremely seriously, they really challenge us to do the best work we can, and at the same time they’re incredibly supportive."