Our Research Lab
About our Lab
Lab Overview
The Accessible Mapping Research Lab, directed by Dr. Victoria Fast, is a research team at the University of Calgary dedicated to elevating accessibility and inclusivity in both urban and digital environments.
Our lab fosters a collaborative working environment that values and utilizes the collective expertise, experiences, and abilities of our diverse team members to identify holistic solutions for inclusive accessibility.
Our Research
Our research combines advanced Geographic Information System (GIS) and mapping software with rigorous social science scholarship such as critical disability theory, urban geography, and qualitative GIS. This research is multidisciplinary and works towards helping academics, practitioners, and others better understand the aids and barriers to spatial accessibility in our built environment.
We recognize that elevating accessibility and inclusivity goes beyond our own academic research. In addition to our academic research, we also create experiential educational resources, develop partnerships with social services and community organizations, and provide one-off consulting and mentorship opportunities for other researchers.
Through our research, we:
- Commit to dismantling physical, digital, and societal barriers that hinder full participation of all individuals, especially those with disabilities
- Employ innovative spatial technologies and machine learning techniques to identify evidence-based accessibility challenges that can inform and shape public policy
- Collaborate directly with communities to co-develop actionable and scalable solutions that have a meaningful, tangible impact
- Cultivate inclusive learning environments that both equip learners with concrete skills to dismantle barriers and knowledge to advocate for lasting change