Imagine being a wheelchair user and having to experience being limited in your movement by a construction site on the sidewalk. Or trash bins being carelessly left next to a ramp.
Brest Métropole has taken a bold step towards increased inclusivity in public spaces, thanks to its collaboration with StreetCo and a growing focus on digital inclusion. By integrating collaborative mapping tools into its mobility ecosystem, the city is helping people with reduced mobility navigate urban environments more safely and independently.
We took some time to talk to Jacqueline Scheidweiler, Assistante mobilités et numérique - Usages et promotion des mobilités at Brest Métropole, about the experience with StreetCo.
StreetCo is an app developed for mapping accessibility and guiding people with reduced mobility. It works in tandem with its twin app StreetNav: the first collects data present on the road and then sends it to the second to guide all people with reduced mobility. During daily journeys, users can report any obstacles on the road or any streets that are fully accessible by taking a picture and classifying them by category (works, vehicles, etc.) and confirm or deny the obstacles already reported to update the data. By integrating the data reported on StreetCo in the Bibus app via an API, users are able to locate obstacles on their itineraries.
Discover how Brest is empowering citizens and building a more accessible city.
SMALL: You have mentioned that StreetCo is an app. Can you describe better how it works?
JS: It's a collaborative GPS app. That means that everybody can use it, or should use it, because with the StreetCo app, you can report obstacles in public areas, and this helps to integrate data, which would help people with reduced mobility to localise potential obstacles. So today we have two apps. We have on the one side, the StreetCo app to report obstacles, and on the other side, we have the Bibus app, where you can have a look at the obstacles on your itineraries.
SMALL: Can you give an example of what the obstacles are?
JS: For example, fixed obstacles or temporary obstacles, like dustbins or vehicles on the sidewalk, or even if the sidewalk is too narrow.
SMALL: How did the project start? How did the idea for an app like this begin, and how was the development process?
JS: We were contacted by StreetCo because their director of communication is from Brest. Accessibility of our territory is a big issue, and we have had a lot of remarks from people with reduced mobility about the accessibility of public transport premises, such as bus/tram stops and sidewalks around stations. This is why we thought that joining StreetCo would be a good idea. Also because, initially, we worked on two different European projects: SMALL, and another project called FOLLOW with the EIT urban mobility programme. And with the EIT mobility programme, we financed the integration of the StreetCo app in the Bibus (the local public transport operator) app.
SMALL: How did it start out?
JS: In the beginning, we organised two workshops to present StreetCo, and it was really eye-opening because people with reduced mobility were really interested in the app.
For example, StreetCo organised an event with the French Association of Paralysed People. This allowed us to collect a large number of reports on obstacles, which is very positive because, of course, if nobody makes the reports, the app can’t work.
SMALL: Unless the community participates in building a network of information, then there's no network. That initial step towards making people start contributing itself is the hardest part. How is that going?
JS: It's really difficult. In the beginning we contacted 15 associations in Brest who are working for and with people with reduced mobility. As of today, they have organised two challenges, which is not a lot, but it’s definitely something.
And the feedback received was a bit negative regarding the lack of human resources, lack of time, and limited engagement of the members of the associations. They seem to be a bit wary of the project, even if it has no additional costs for them, considering that, unlike companies, associations don’t have to pay to take part in the SteetCo Challenges.
SMALL: How does that work? Can you explain the process of a StreetCo challenge?
JS: The StreetCo Challenge is an intra-association and intra-company project, but it also could be inter-company, and the aim is to report in the app as many obstacles as possible. In the end, the user who reports the most wins some goodies.
Bibus, our local public transport operator, is currently running a challenge, but it’s a bit difficult for them to find the resources and time to carry it out.
So, the idea is to bring together members of associations for disabled people and companies and have them report the obstacles that they see on their way.
SMALL: Why do you think that there's a sort of resistance towards taking part in these challenges?
JS: Often people struggle with forming new habits. Behavioural changes are difficult to obtain, and it’s hard to make enough people start thinking that whenever they see something on the street that could be an obstacle, then they should take their phone out and report it on StreetCo.
SMALL: Do you think that it's also related to the fact that people often struggle to understand what an obstacle is? As able-bodied people, sometimes it’s hard to think of what exactly might limit the free circulation of someone with a disability.
JS: That’s an element to it. If you're not affected by the obstacle, you don't think about it. Since I started working on the project, I pay a lot more attention to how people put their trash bins in the streets, for example, and even I avoid leaving them where they could cause an obstruction on the sidewalk.
Indeed, it depends on the collective understanding of what a barrier is unless they experience it.
This reminds me of the simulation that was done in Varberg with the SMALL Suitcase. In the end, that's why we do this and why projects like SMALL exist. Unfortunately, empathy can only take you so far. You have to actually sit down with the people who struggle with these things and ask them directly how to help them. Co-creation is essential, but it can be difficult to achieve.
There were also some communication-related problems that made StreetCo a bit less successful than what we would have liked. We launched the app in October 2023, but then in 2024 we didn’t do any dissemination about the app, which left a gap of over a year. Additionally, from StreetCo’s side, they had several development stages with the app itself; they changed the name of the app multiple times as well.
SMALL: What are the next steps?
JS: StreetCo will try to approach more associations to organise challenges.
StreetCo launched a new programme at the beginning of 2024, which is called Streeter Pro, where people are paid to make the reports. At the moment, we have one student in Brest who's reporting obstacles routinely, and thanks to him, we have around 4000 reports, but they’re looking for more Streeter Pros.
We also want to communicate more throughout the Bibus app.
Credits for the article go to Sara Mecatti
Learn more about SMALL
The SMALL project is made up of 12 partners from six different countries in the North Sea Region, piloting new inclusive shared mobility services across Europe. Get in contact with us to learn more.