June 11, 2025
The online meeting highlighted how DVRPC uses data to support regional planning and engage the Greater Philadelphia region.
On May 28, 2025, DVRPC’s Public Participation Task Force (PPTF) held a virtual meeting focused on data’s role in regional planning and public engagement. Attendees learned about DVRPC’s data philosophy, public-facing tools, and the traffic data collection process that supports decision-making across the Greater Philadelphia region.
The meeting highlighted tools such as AccessScore, which evaluates bicycle and pedestrian access around transit stations; the Municipal Data Navigator, a platform for exploring municipal and county-level datasets; and the Traffic Count Viewer, which provides traffic counts across the DVRPC region. Attendees also previewed the upcoming Community Profiles Tool, which will consolidate various demographic, housing, and economic data tools into one resource. Presentations also covered the process by which DVRPC collects and processes over 3,000 traffic counts annually to support PennDOT, local municipalities, and regional planning efforts.
A panel discussion explored the growing importance of data literacy, the opportunities and challenges of generative AI, and DVRPC’s values-driven approach to AI use. Attendees expressed interest in youth-friendly data tutorials and easier access to municipal data.
The Public Participation Task Force would like to thank our presenters for participating in this community-centered discussion: Mike Ruane, associate director of data and technology, Chris Pollard, manager of the Office of GIS, and Joshua Rocks, manager of the Office of Travel Monitoring.
The recording of this meeting and presentation materials are available on the PPTF webpage.