Neighbourhood Mapping Instructions

The following instructions are a guide to help you map the things you love or things you feel need improvement or are missing in your neighbourhood. Steps 1 through 5 help participants sign into Shape Your City, open and navigate the map. If you feel very familiar with the Shape Your City website and the mapping tool, you may wish to proceed to step 6 of the instructions to guide you through the addition of pins.

We recommend that you use Google Chrome or Mozzilla Firefox to do the mapping. These browsers better support the mapping tool. We also recommend that you use a laptop or desktop for greater visibility and functionality if available.

Steps to Successful Mapping:

Sign in or Register to Shape Your City
To participate in the Rupert Renfrew Neighbourhood Mapping activity you will need to Sign in to the Shape Your City website or Register if you have not done so already.

Click on the Sign in / Register button on the upper right corner of the page next to the search bar. You can find detailed instructions on how to register.
Accessing the Map

Scroll down the Rupert Renfrew Station Area Plan Shape Your City website and click on the Map tab next to the Updates dialog box. Here you will find a description of the activity and a preview of the map.

Click on the Go to Map button at the end of the description box to launch the map. The map will open in a new window on your screen.
Navigating the Map

The map will show the Rupert and Renfrew study area in blue as well as streets, parks, Still Creek and some additional destinations. If you are familiar with Google maps you may know how to navigate your way around already.

To move around the map all you need to do is bring your cursor over the map image. Once the cursor icon shows a hand you may click down on your mouse. While maintaining the click down simply move your cursor left/right or up/down and the map will move along in the same direction.

To zoom in and out of the map you have the following options:
- At the bottom right corner of the screen you can click the + sign to zoom in and the – sign to zoom out; or
- You can use the wheel on your mouse by rolling it forward to zoom in or backwards to zoom out.
- If you are using a tablet or a smart phone, you can zoom in an out by pressing down on the screen with two fingers and moving them apart or together.
- To find a location on the map you can click on the magnifying glass icon at the upper right corner of the map image. Once you click on the icon a search bar will open. You can find a location in two ways:
  - Type in an address; or
  - Type in the name of the location you which to find.
- A list of locations will show on the screen based on your search. Click on the one you are looking for and the map will zoom in directly over it. Hint: ensure your selection is in Vancouver, some locations may have results in other cities.
Accessing the Information Panel

The information panel is located on the left side of the screen. This will show up when you open the map. It provides instructions for the activity as well as descriptions of the things you will be asked to map in the neighbourhood.
- To access or hide the information panel simply click on the icon to the left of the screen.
- To scroll and reveal more content in the information panel simply click on the up and down arrows or use the slide bar.
Accessing the Pin Panel

The pin panel is located on the left side of the screen below the information panel. This panel contains all of the pins you will be using to identify things in the neighbourhood.

To access or hide the pin panel simply click on the + icon to the left of the screen.
To scroll and reveal more pins simply click on the up and down arrows or use the slide bar.
Adding Pins

Each pin has been coloured and labeled differently to help you. If you are unclear on what things to identify for a particular pin remember that the information panel in the map also contains short descriptions or examples to guide you. Refer to step 4 of this instructions to access the information panel.

	Pin	Descriptions
	Neighbourhood heart	What do you feel is the ‘heart’ of your neighbourhood?
	Groceries	Where do you typically get your groceries from?
	Restaurants, cafes, other food services	Where are your favorite places to eat out, order take out, or get a drink?
	Other shops/stores	What other stores and businesses do you visit on a regular basis?
	Parks, plazas, open spaces	Are there outdoor spaces that you visit regularly?
	Arts and cultural spaces	Are there significant arts and culture places that you visit regularly? These could be businesses, outdoor spaces, or other places
	Community services	Are there important social or family services you depend on? such as childcare, community centres, wellnes centres, neighbourhood houses or other non-profit services?
	Walk / rolling / cycling	Are there issues or opportunities you want us to know about while walking, rolling or cycling?
	Transit	Are there issues or opportunities you want us to know about while accessing / taking transit?
	Driving / parking	Are there issues or opportunities you want us to know about while driving or accessing parking?

	Unique / special	What makes the neighbourhood special or unique?
	What's missing?	Is there anything missing form the neighbourhood? Something you would love to have, but can’t access?

For each pin you may identify places or experiences you enjoy in your neighbourhood, as well as things that are missing or could be improved. You can add as many pins as you want for each pin colour. For example, you may decide that your neighbourhood has two hearts and not just one!

The Rupert and Renfrew study area (shown in blue) is the focus of the planning process. However, if you visit locations outside of the study area boundary more regularly feel free to identify them.

To add a pin do the following:

Zoom into the location you wish to identify on the map or find the location through the magnifying glass icon (Step 3).
Access the pin panel and select the appropriate coloured pin.
Click on the pin and while maintaining the click down drag and drop the pin over the location you wish to identify. Release the mouse.
After the pin has been placed on the map a comment box will open to the left of the screen. Please type the name of the place or provide a description of the experience you have chosen for this pin. Tell us what you love about it or what is missing or needs improvement.
To finalize your pin press submit. Only pins that have been submitted will be visible to us, so please ensure to do this step for each pin.

7. Editing a Pin

Once a pin has been submitted it can only be deleted from the map by a staff member. However, you can edit the location or the description of the pin if you realize you’ve made a mistake.

Click on the pin you wish to edit and an information box will open with your user name and the description you provided for the pin.
Click on the icon to the right of your user name and a menu will open.
Select the Edit option from the menu and a message will come up asking you to edit the pin.
You can relocate the pin and/or change the description.
Press submit when finished to save your changes.

8. Finalizing Your Map

Good news, you are done! If you pressed submit after each time you placed a pin, they have alredy been saved.

9. Have More Questions?

If you have more questions please contact us at rupertrenfrewplan@vancouver.ca. We will be offering facilitated online mapping workshops as well as in person mapping opportunities through open houses. Please refer to the Shape Your City website for updates on those events.

Categories: English updates