Mastering Maps: How to Use Them for Effective Community Engagement
Commonplace Heatmaps - available on ALL devices

Mastering Maps: How to Use Them for Effective Community Engagement

Charlotte Dove Bowen Charlotte Dove Bowen

Charlotte Dove Bowen

UK Growth & Partnerships Lead @ Commonplace (powered by ZenCity)

发布日期: 2025年1月7日
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Community engagement is shifting, and it's no longer about scribbling on post-its or reading through piles of feedback forms. Enter the era of heat maps and data - interactive, visual, and packed with real-time, geolocated insights. These digital maps - alongside visual surveys, are giving communities a new way to voice their opinions, offering a clearer, more impactful picture of local needs. The beauty of it? It's not just about collecting data; it's about creating a space where people can see how their input shapes the conversation.

If someone asked you to share what’s really going on with your street - what works, what doesn't, and how it could be better - would you add your voice to a map? Odds are, you’d say yes. The thing is, most people never get this chance. Until now!

Why we have developed our Community Heatmaps...

Workshops are great for idea harnessing, but capturing local based insights should be captured digitally - especially if you want accurate geo-data!

Take a look at the image above: the post-its scattered across the map might catch your eye, but let’s be honest - it’s tough to cram meaningful insights onto a tiny square of paper. Deciphering rushed, scratchy handwriting? Even harder.

That’s exactly why we’ve reimagined public engagement with the UK’s most loved platform, built with cutting-edge sentiment mapping technology at its core. It’s not just a tool - it’s a revolution in how communities connect, share, and shape their local areas.

Engagement maps can:

  • Boost participation: Imagine a 25% increase in project proposals!
  • Improve data quality: Get more accurate and insightful feedback.
  • Enhance communication: Visualise complex issues for better understanding.
  • Increase inclusivity: Make engagement accessible to everyone.

Commonplace Heatmap Example

Commonplace's Community Heatmap is a powerful tool that enhances public engagement by allowing community members to provide location-specific feedback on various projects. They sit in tile form on the engagement site allowing respondents to click in to enter.

The heatmaps can now incorporate multiple layers of data, such as focal points, boundaries, and informational overlays, to enrich the context of the engagement. Additionally, it supports 3D modelling through integration with our partners VU.CITY's digital twin software, offering an immersive experience for visualising proposed developments within the existing environment.

3D Model / Digital Twin View from Map Pins

Commonplace also offers interactive map questions for those using surveys - which enables users to drop pins, draw lines, or outline areas directly on a map, facilitating precise and insightful input on an individual level.

MAP SURVEY QUESTION TYPES - WHICH CAN BE DRAGGED INTO SURVEYS TO HARNESS PLACE BASED INSIGHTS

Here are some of my favourite Commonplace features that have taken this technology to the next level, proving that when communities are given the right tools, they can future-proof projects and places.

NEW - Map Edit Mode – Build Your Own Interactive Maps

We’ve create for anyone looking to integrate mapping into their engagement projects. With just a few clicks, our clients can upload data layers and shape files to add rich context to their maps - empowering them to tell compelling, data-driven stories like never before. It's possible to bulk-upload data layers.

A glimpse of our Map Edit Mode

Example of a shape file uploaded in under 60 seconds with complete 800 boundary lines and hover panels for each site!

Example of a quick shape file upload to then harness insights on

Maps in the Dashboard

Maps in Dashboard

Maps just got a major upgrade on the client dashboards. Now, clients can build a deeper, geospatial understanding of map contributions using 'map charts' - ideal for presenting data in a sleek, professional way. These new charts integrate seamlessly with all existing filters, so you can zoom in on specific wards, boroughs, or districts. It's the ultimate tool for grouping people based on location and sending them ultra-targeted, hyper-relevant emails to boost engagement and drive participation. The power to connect, tailor, and elevate your outreach is now right at your fingertips.

Overlay images on Maps

Now you can overlay images directly onto the map - perfect for visualising new road layouts, road closures, or regeneration proposals. Think of it as a way to bring your plans to life in a way that’s instantly understandable. Take the Watford neighbourhood map, for example: by simplifying it with an overlay, it’s easier to highlight specific changes and give the community a clear picture of what’s coming. It’s a game-changer for illustrating complex ideas and ensuring everyone’s on the same page.

Themed pins

Now, - . To keep things clear and effective, we recommend sticking to no more than six themes. Colour-code them with bold, distinct colours so the clusters instantly show you what’s what. This makes the map way more intuitive, helping users quickly grasp the key points and navigate the most important stuff without getting lost in the details. Simple, sleek, and straight to the point.

Neutral pins

Here’s the deal: always add a sentiment question to your map - it’s a game-changer. Map pins and clusters don’t need to be stuck in a dull grey. In fact, a splash of purple or any colour that suits your vibe can work way better, making the map pop and feel more on-brand. And if you’re expecting some serious pushback or strong opinions, you can set a threshold. Once you hit a certain number of comments, the pins will shift to sentiment colours, giving you an instant read on the temperature of the conversation. .

Navigational Tools to Signpost to other Content

Here’s where it gets cool: shapes, lines, and points on the map can link straight to other content on Commonplace! So, in the example below, when someone spots an area they’re interested in, they can click the info panel and dive deeper into questions about that proposal. You can either drop this feature on the main map or make it the star of the hub page, turning it into a navigational map that helps people find exactly what they’re looking for. It’s all about making the experience smoother, faster, and way more relevant.

Navigation maps are ideal for larger projects with a bigger geographical spread

Now for the BEST Commonplace Map Examples!

1. East Bristol Liveable Neighbourhoods - Image on a map

领英推荐

Overlaying images onto maps is incredibly helpful because it adds visual context that enhances understanding and engagement. Images such as proposed designs, photographs, or schematics / renders - can provide a clear representation of what changes or developments will look like in real life. This makes it easier for people to visualise the impact of a project, such as road closures, new infrastructure, or environmental improvements. It also helps stakeholders quickly grasp complex concepts, creating a more engaging and accessible way for them to interact with the project and offer informed feedback.

2. Central Bedfordshire Active Travel Map - great example of how valuable maps are for travel and infrastructure projects!

Heatmaps are essential for active travel and transport projects because they provide a visual, data-driven way to understand movement patterns and identify key areas for improvement. By showing where people are walking, cycling, wheeling - or using public transport most frequently, heatmaps highlight high-traffic routes, popular destinations, and areas of concern. This allows planners to make informed decisions about where to invest in infrastructure, such as new bike lanes, walking routes, pedestrian crossings, or public transport hubs. They also help identify gaps in the network where accessibility, lighting or safety may be lacking, ensuring that changes are targeted where they’re needed most. Heatmaps turn complex mobility data into a clear, actionable insight, enabling more effective planning and fostering safer, more efficient transportation systems that encourage active travel.

3. Lambeth Council - Safety and Violence Against Women and Girls Map - capturing valuable insights to improve safety

The Commonplace VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) heatmap in Lambeth was successful because it provided a clear, interactive way for the community to highlight areas where they felt unsafe or had experienced violence. By allowing residents to pinpoint specific locations and provide contextual feedback, it enabled a more accurate understanding of the real issues at play. The heatmap’s success can be attributed to its ability to engage a broad range of voices, including those who may not have felt comfortable sharing their experiences in traditional forms. Additionally, it fostered a sense of empowerment and inclusivity, giving the community a direct role in identifying hotspots and shaping local strategies. The map’s visual, real-time updates made it easier for decision-makers to identify patterns, while also raising awareness of the severity and breadth of the issue. Ultimately, it helped to create a data-driven, collaborative approach to tackling VAWG, with clear insights that informed local policies and interventions. Data like this can help to tackle big issues quickly.

4. Wandsworth Night Time Economy Engagement to form NTE Strategy - map using large boundary line and data set of businesses open from 6pm-6am

Wandsworth used Commonplace to share data on a heatmap. Sharing data sets with the community, especially in relation to opening hours for a Night-Time Economy (NTE) strategy engagement, is crucial for transparency and fostering trust. When the community has access to this data, it empowers them to understand the reasoning behind proposed changes and how decisions are being made. It also invites them to provide more informed feedback, as they can directly see how their local area’s opening hours align with broader patterns or needs. By sharing this data, you demonstrate that the engagement is not just about collecting opinions, but also about considering the real, data-driven factors that impact the NTE. This transparency encourages deeper participation, leading to more thoughtful, relevant input from residents, businesses, and other stakeholders.

5. Community Activity Map in Bracknell showcasing data layers in a brighter way

Displaying data layers about community groups in a colourful and bold way makes the information more engaging, accessible, and easier to understand. Bright, distinct colours help differentiate between various groups, making it instantly clear which areas or issues are being represented. This visual clarity not only grabs attention but also allows users to quickly interpret the data at a glance, without feeling overwhelmed by complexity.

6. Scale up for larger maps - example here of a nationwide cycle improvement scheme

By expanding your map’s reach, you can engage a vast audiences across the entire country, collecting feedback from every corner in a way that's both intuitive and effective. Whether it's pinpointing proposed cycle routes or highlighting areas that need attention, this scale lets you capture valuable insights from diverse audiences in diverse locations. It’s a game-changer for large-scale initiatives, helping you ensure that every voice is heard and every area is considered, all while keeping the process seamless and organised. We have a few great examples of Nationwide engagement projects.?

7. Ensuring strong engagement across larger areas

Engagement maps help to ensure feedback is gathered from all areas of a place by allowing users to pinpoint their responses based on location. This geolocated approach captures insights from both central areas and underserved regions, ensuring no part of the community is overlooked. It also allows you to see where you might need to spend more time engaging! With the ability to filter responses by specific areas, engagement maps make it easy to identify underrepresented zones and target outreach efforts. By visualising feedback in real time, they create an inclusive, transparent and dynamic way to capture a broad, representative range of voices, making the engagement process more comprehensive and impactful.

8. Maps with boundaries used on survey tile imagery to tailor the customer journey

Using map imagery on tiles is a smart way to tailor the customer journey and enhance user engagement. By incorporating boundaries into survey tile imagery, you create a more interactive and context-driven experience. The boundaries help users immediately recognise specific areas of focus, making it clear which regions, districts, or zones they are providing feedback on. This targeted approach not only guides users more effectively through the survey but also ensures that their input is relevant to the area in question.

9. Hosting multiple heatmaps simultaneously! Covering all bases across multiple themes!

Hosting multiple heatmaps simultaneously is a brilliant strategy because it allows you to cover all bases across different themes without overwhelming users. By breaking down the project into distinct heatmaps whether for sentiment, infrastructure, environmental concerns, or community priorities - you make it easier for participants to engage with the aspects that matter most to them. This not only simplifies the experience but also offers a more comprehensive view of community feedback. By cross-referencing data across various themes, you uncover patterns and gain a deeper, multi-dimensional understanding of public opinion. This approach makes the engagement more interactive, organised, and insightful, ultimately helping you make more informed decisions and foster better community involvement. Always think about a dedicated tile for Mobility and Accessibility!

10. Rural map in Scotland with large and clear territorial boundary lines

Large coloured territorial boundary lines are incredibly useful on larger engagements because they help visually define and separate different areas of focus, making it easier for participants to understand the scope and context of their feedback. When dealing with larger geographic areas such as multiple boroughs, districts, or even cities - these boundary lines create clear divisions, guiding users to the specific locations they need to focus on. This not only helps with organisation but also ensures that feedback is accurately associated with the right area.

11. Custom pins for a neutral coloured engagement

Customising with neutral sentiment pins is a smart way to ensure balanced representation on your map. Not every piece of feedback is going to be positive or negative, and neutral sentiment pins allow you to capture those in-between responses that are just as important. These pins provide a clear visual of areas where the community feels indifferent, unsure, or undecided, helping you avoid skewing your results based solely on extremes. By including neutral sentiment, you not only make your map more accurate, but you also invite a more nuanced understanding of community sentiment. This approach fosters a more inclusive conversation, where all perspectives are considered, giving you a better overall picture of how people truly feel. Customising your map this way ensures that you don’t miss out on the subtler, yet valuable, feedback that could influence the success of your project.

12. Custom info points created for added relevance and context

Maps with added context, like info points, tend to attract more responses because they provide users with a clearer, more engaging way to interact with the content. Customising your maps isn’t just about making them look good—it’s about enhancing the user experience. By adding layers of context, you can guide people to areas of interest, highlight key themes, or provide additional information that sparks meaningful feedback. Customisation helps make the map feel relevant to the specific project, encouraging more interaction and ensuring that responses are more targeted and insightful. The more tailored and informative your map is, the more likely you are to get the kind of valuable input that truly shapes your project.

13. Photo Maps - allowing local residents to share photos to a map!

Photos don’t just capture the vibe of a place - they make the case for smarter, better design. Enter photo maps: the ultimate co-design hack. They let users go beyond snapshots, uploading videos and tagging responses to survey questions. It’s feedback, but with style and substance, layering visuals to drive real change.

14. Sentiment temperature check in North Finchley ahead of design and planning

The clever developers get it right: they use Commonplace to dig deep before breaking ground for planning. By uncovering what the community truly valued, they can spark a refreshingly open conversation about regeneration - one rooted in transparency and real impact. Maps are a great way to engage early, and build your local audience at the inception of projects.?

15. Rolling out new EV infrastructure in Surrey, quickly!

Heatmaps are a game-changer for EV infrastructure rollout, turning complex data into clear, actionable insights. They highlight high-demand areas, reveal underserved regions, and help prioritise resources where they’re needed most. By visualising real-time and historical trends, heatmaps enable smarter, scalable planning while fostering transparency and community buy-in. It’s a simple yet powerful tool for building an EV network that works for everyone.

16. Shaping the character of an area by finding out what's wonderful! Understand, celebrate and protect what's good!

Engagement maps are essential for place character studies and heritage conservation as they gather local knowledge, highlight culturally significant areas, and document intangible heritage. By involving communities in mapping, these tools help identify vulnerable sites, prioritise conservation, and ensure that preservation efforts reflect local values and needs. They also foster awareness, guide sustainable development, and track changes over time, making them key to preserving both physical and cultural heritage.

17. Multilingual Map in Wales! Turning an English Engagement into Welsh with a click!

We offer multilingual engagement sites - and maps can also be translated!

With close to 3000 projects under our belts, we have plenty more examples where this came from!

Want to see any of these examples for yourself? Book a demo with our team.

Charlotte Bowen, Private Sector Engagement Specialist

[email protected]


Max Farrell

Founder & CEO, LDN Collective | Chair of Built Environment, West London Business | Past President, LAI Land Economics Society (London) | Fellow RSA | Lead Judge, Healthy City Awards | Podcast Host, Collectively Speaking

1 个月

Great stuff! ??

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Nick Kaufmann

Community Manager, inCitu

1 个月

nice read! happy new year!

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