In collaboration with Creative, a brand experience agency, we created an interactive map made especially for users of the Razorback Greenway in Northwest Arkansas.
The Razorback Greenway is a paved mixed-use and alternative transportation trail in Northwest Arkansas. Spanning over 40 miles through 7 different cities, it results from the collaboration between local city governments, the Northwest Arkansas Planning Commission, the University of Arkansas, and the Walton Family Foundation. Collectively these groups wanted to provide a way for community members to connect and discover the art, culture, and entertainment available in the region along the shared Greenway trail. As part of a rebranding and new wayfinding installed along the Greenway's 40 miles, leaders wanted to engage users more deeply and provide information about the trail and its amenities through a digital tool.
Through in-depth collaboration between stakeholders and implementers from both teams and from the Razorback Greenway Alliance, Lofty's strategic leadership team took all parties through a series of workshops to ensure the project was headed for success. Ensuring all parties have a voice at the table from the first meeting ensures that the best ideas win and projects are aligned with desired outcomes no matter the starting point. The rapport and trust built through the initial discovery process allowed the Lofty team to collaborate closely to ensure the Greenway project was successful.
The foundation of the Greenway map is Mapbox, with which Lofty engineers built a fully custom map experience. The tool integrates directly with the University of Arkansas Center for Advanced Spatial Technology (CAST) geospatial data services. As the maintainer of ground truth for the Greenway, CAST is able to update the trail with detours, spurs, and re-routing of the Greenway's ongoing dynamic development. What’s most important about that effort is that it was done in a brand-conscious way, enabling each community to be represented both individually and collectively as a whole.
This project helps people to explore, share, and celebrate the culture Northwest Arkansas. The Razorback Greenway trail exists to connect and drive economic growth across seven communities and drive economic growth and development across them. By making geographic data about the Greenway accessible, the tool enables members of the growing region to engage in active recreation and alternative transportation.
The digital map must match its real-world counterparts, like physical signage and city coloring along the trail. This required tight collaboration between engineering teams at Lofty, our external design partners, and the Greenway Alliance itself. We continue to iterate on concepts for additional engaging projects around the Greenway.
