As Bellevue's neighborhoods grow increasingly diverse, more and more of the city's residents will depend on alternative transportation options to get around.  Today, while many such neighborhoods are rich in vibrancy, cultural diversity, and tradition, they are also difficult to navigate.  For many residents, employees, visitors, and patrons who walk, bike, and use public transportation to and from Bellevue's neighborhoods, mobility can be a challenge.  Whether it's deciding which bus route to take or finding a local business on a neighborhood map, it's clear that better information is needed to help travelers move freely around within their communities without getting confused or lost.

Go Bellevue is a project of the University of Washington Department of Urban Design & Planning that helps address these very needs by developing a neighborhood wayfinding plan that uses one of Bellevue's most vibrant communities as a case study-- the Crossroads neighborhood. Wayfinding, which describes a system that helps individuals physically navigate a space or literally "find their way" within a neighborhood, can include information signs, markers, and kiosks.  You can find existing wayfinding examples in downtown Bellevue, where a system of information kiosks is already helping travelers navigate downtown's busy streets.

Go Bellevue is the capstone project of Sherwin Lee, a recent graduate from the Community, Environment, and Planning and Geography programs at the University of Washington.  Sherwin has researched the Crossroads neighborhood in depth for more than a year now, driven by his passion for transportation, urban planning, and demography, particularly how immigrants move across urban geographies.  As the son of Taiwanese immigrants, he is aware first-hand of how cultural barriers can hinder non-native populations' ability to carry out simple daily affairs, like getting around from neighborhood to neighborhood. Sherwin hopes to continue pursuing these issues on a graduate level in the future, and develop his understanding of how built and social environments interact on a daily basis.

For inquiries or comments regarding the project, you can send an e-mail to contact@gobellevue.org.