Visualizing Stormwater Infrastructure

A Digital Walking Tour at Roger Williams Park

Photo credit: Providence Stormwater Innovation Center/ https://www.stormwaterinnovation.org/home

In collaboration with the Providence Stormwater Innovation Center (PSIC), DWELL Lab is developing an augmented reality (AR) walking tour to highlight the center’s work with urban stormwater infrastructure. The tour takes place along the 1.25 mile loop around Roosevelt Lake in Roger Williams Park (RWP) in Providence. The first iteration of the tour is nearing completion and will be finalized in December of 2024. However, we expect to continue to grow and develop the content for years to come, reflecting the dynamic efforts made to improve water quality at RWP as a “living lab,” or an open innovation ecosystem.

Plagued by poor water quality and eutrophication, many of the water bodies at RWP are remediated by PSIC’s stormwater best management practices, or BMP, sites. In fact, there are 35 structural and non-structural stormwater BMPs installed in Roger Williams Park, at least five of which are located at Roosevelt Lake. The paved path along Roosevelt Lake is ADA-accessible and open to the public.

Project Collaborators

Faculty	Madison Jones (WRT & NRS)
Community Partners	Ryan Kopp and Rebecca Reeves (Providence Stormwater Innovation Initiative) José R Menéndez López (Assistant Professor, Northeastern)
Graduate Students	Joseph Ahart (MESM ’24); Ally Overbay (MESM ’24); AnnaFaith Jorgensen (MESM ’24)
Undergraduate Students	Novena Kapisa (APG ’24); Calder Puckett (WRT ’26); Aidan Donnellan (Computer Engineering ’26)

We are actively seeking additional collaborators from across the Providence and URI communities to help us layer additional types of content from a diverse range of perspectives and disciplines. If you would like to learn more about how you might contribute to the project, please contact Madison Jones (madisonjones@uri.edu).

Project Snapshot

	Phase I: Discovery	Phase II: Prototyping & Infrastructure	Phase III: Production & Publication
Description	Feasibility study; cocreation workshops with community partners; initial mapping and content development; securing funding for project phases.	User testing; creating additional content; (website, video, and augmented reality); imaging and digital production; usability report; user testing; securing additional funding.	Public promotion; present analysis; finalize project content; develop, market, and distribute; publish findings; create sustainable publishing model for future work.
Start Date	January 2023	May 2024	September 2024
Complete	January 2024	August 2024	December 2024
Funding	Catalyst Grant, URI Costal Institute	RI NSF EPSCoR SURF Program	TBA

Because of its proximity to stormwater BMPs and its ADA-accessible walking trail, Roosevelt Lake is the focus of the AR walking tour. The tour will include multiple AR objects, including renderings of structural stormwater BMPS—one of which is linked below as a QR code. An updated list of proposed Points of Interest (POIs) and route may be found on the project’s shared Google MyMap.

pinpoint on a map indicating position — Visit the project’s Google MyMap for an updated overview of the tour (in progress).

This walking tour not only celebrates PSIC’s work, but also informs the public about stormwater BMPs and serve as an educational tool for Roger Williams Park staff.

Funding Acknowledgement

The collaborators are grateful to the Costal Institute at the University of Rhode Island for supporting this project.

The initial phase of this project is made possible in part by the generous support of the URI Coastal Institute’s 2023 Catalyst Grant. We are grateful for the support of the Costal Institute and the collaborative support of the Providence Stormwater Innovation Center.

Summer support for students was generously provided by the 2024 RI NSF EPSCoR Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program and funded by the NSF Award #OIA-1655221. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Sample Content

QR Code that links to an AR experience — In this augmented reality experience, you will see a 3D model of one of the stormwater BMP sites at Roger Williams Park. When you click on the landscape/model, a flooding effect will occur, demonstrating how the site mitigates stormwater runoff.

To access a sample augmentation of the project:

1. Scan the following QR code with your smart device’s camera (or click the following link from your mobile device: https://adobeaero.app.link/sVMEYV3rGu)

2. You will be prompted to download and install Adobe Aero (if you do not already have the app)

3. The augmentation should automatically load after installation (you may have to rescan the QR code [or click the link] again once you install the app)