Communicating planning documents can sometimes feel a bit like a puzzle. You need to ensure that legal requirements are met but also find a way to make complex information easy to understand. In this article we've compiled some practical strategies that can help in achieving this task.
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Don't show everything at once!
The plan maps often include A LOT of detailed information. While it is easy(ish) for a planner to read, it can easily overwhelm other people (we often see versions of 'map spaghetti' in planning surveys). You don't need to show everything on one survey page! Instead, think in terms of storytelling and guide respondents through the different layers of detail. For example
1. Survey page 1 shows a map of the current situation.
2. Page 2 shows the proposed changes to housing.
3. Page 3 shows the proposed changes to roads.
On each page, you can enable respondents to toggle on further layers from other pages if you want by editing the legend.If you're communicating plans that encompass multiple communities or focus areas, consider if it would be smart to use branching rules or location zoom so that people can easily select what parts of the plans are relevant for them.
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Keep your text simple and hide more detailed descriptions under Pop-up windows
It’s tempting to share every detail of a plan, but your core communication should be laser focused. Think about what information is the most essential for EVERYONE to know. Communicate it in language that does not require urban planning expertise to be understood. Also images, icons, or audio clips can help to support or replace complex text.
Some people might have more experience with planning jargon and want the detailed information – include that under Pop-ups that people can access if they want.
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Guide and inform through interactive maps
Planning documents can sometimes suffer from visual overload when presenting geographical information. Use Pop up maps to transform your dense visuals into digestable spatial information. The primary map remains clean and high level. When the user interacts with a feature on the map, a targeted pop up appears, displaying all the relevant data (text, images etc.) for that single location. This approach makes exploring your plan a much more rewarding experience.
Learn instructions for Pop up maps. -
When you want respondents to add their map comments, give them a clear map
If the plan map is complicated, consider #2 and then asking respondents submit their map comments on a separate page with a simpler map. You can make the detailed layers of the plans available in the legend.