One of the big challenges Downtown faces is that there are many districts that are poorly connected with dead space in between them--empty store fronts, parking lots, etc. Thankfully, the Knight Foundation funded a project to help overcome this key issue and city staff is working on implementing some of the proposals.
The first phase of the program will focus on delivering navigation totems throughout Downtown at key intersections. It will cover a ten-minute walking radius and the first totems will be placed along San Carlos between the convention center and SJSU. It will help visitors and students branch out into other parts of Downtown.
The totems for now will unfortunately be static, which is inconvenient as Downtown is changing very rapidly. I was hoping for interactive screens that would be better suited for the "Capital of Silicon Valley" and perhaps direct people to events happening that day or allow for integrating creative art or even location-based games. At least there will likely be a mobile way-finding element at some point.
For more info, check out the link below or check out the Knight Foundation report.
Source: SJ Economy Blog
While screens could be cool, as nearly everyone has a smart phone, just a unique QR code on each totem that links to location specific, updated information on events and news could a be pretty useful solution.
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