Nick Bolten

Research Scientist / Engineer, Cofounder of OpenSidewalks and AccessMap
a photo of Nick Bolten, a man with glasses standing outdoors.

My research focuses on the intersection between pedestrian mobility, data science, and computer science. I work on defining, collecting, producing user-facing tools for, and analyzing pedestrian network data – data that is otherwise rarely collected but exposes serious inequities and accessibility concerns in our public spaces. My PhD work focused on two projects, OpenSidewalks and AccessMap. OpenSidewalks is a project for openly defining, creating, and analyzing pedestrian network data, particularly in OpenStreetMap. AccessMap is a user-facing information retrieval tool, an interactive map that adapts to an individual’s preferences when navigating the built environment: if a person requires curb ramps, it will avoid raised curbs and if a person cannot go up steep hills, it will avoid them, while still providing a realistic path from a start point to an end point. My current research extends on these projects to include a larger number of cities, promote integration between municipalities and OpenSidewalks datasets, and understand pedestrian accessibility on city and regional scales.