Oct 13, 2020
Government agencies all over the country have now been more frequently using interactive visualization and 3D models after noticing the huge impact it can cause on public engagement, and the benefits the agency can reap back from an investment in such tools. Today, we hear from someone within such an agency about how these visualization tools have enhanced the perception of their engineering projects by the general public.
Lynnette Russell is the assistant chief of project management at the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT). She talks about her experience in the construction area, which includes working at the Golden Gate Bridge before coming to Nevada, and how she got into the rotating program at NDOT.
Sam and Lynnette go into an in-depth discussion of how public outreach has drastically changed over the years, and especially now with COVID-19 forcing meetings to be held virtually. Public outreach has gone from a ‘one-way conversation’ with the purpose of solely notifying the community about upcoming projects to a ‘two-way conversation’ that aims at bringing the public to the table and getting feedback from them based on their concerns.
Public outreach is definitely here to stay and the future may be even more exciting. Lynnette and Sam mention Project Neon as an example of how successful interactive visualization can be in helping the public experience the project before it’s even built, and how the initial investment, which at first can seem somewhat unattainable, can actually build traction for the project and multiply its benefits.
Resources Mentioned
Lynnette Russell - LinkedIn / NDOT
American Public Works Association - APWA
Beyond CAD - Website / Vision Weekly Update
Sam Lytle - LinkedIn / sam@beyondcad.com