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Developing art-based cultural experiences in North Kohala: A community engagement project with OneIsland

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Developing art-based cultural experiences in North Kohala: A community engagement project with OneIsland

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Developing art-based cultural experiences in North Kohala:
A community engagement project with OneIsland

by

Christina Meg Haworth

A Thesis Presented to the
Faculty of the USC Graduate School
University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science
(Geographic Information Science and Technology)

August 2018

Copyright © 2018 by Christina Haworth

iii
Table of Contents
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... vii
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ ix
List of Abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... x
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... xi
Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Preserving Culture in Hawai‘i ............................................................................................2
1.1.1. The Americanization of Hawai`i ...............................................................................3
1.1.2. OneIsland’s Goals ......................................................................................................4
1.2. North Kohala’s Governance and OneIsland’s Involvement ...............................................5
1.3. Objectives of this Project ....................................................................................................7
1.4. Thesis Structure ..................................................................................................................8
Chapter 2 Related Work................................................................................................................ 10
2.1. Public Participation GIS ...................................................................................................10
2.2. GIS in Community Planning .............................................................................................14
2.2.1. Case Study: the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association ................................15
2.2.2. Case Study: Caligari, Italy .......................................................................................16
2.2.3. Case Study: San Diego Association of Governments ..............................................17
2.3. Using Geodesign to Catalog Community Input ................................................................17
2.3.1. Creating a Scope ......................................................................................................18
2.3.2. Creating a Method....................................................................................................19
2.3.3. Conducting the Experiment .....................................................................................20
2.4. Scientific Communication ................................................................................................21
2.4.1. Increased Knowledge Does Not Correspond to Increased Understanding ..............21

iv
2.4.2. The Space Race: a Case Study .................................................................................22
Chapter 3 Web Map Application Design ...................................................................................... 24
3.1. Web Map Application Requirements ................................................................................24
3.1.1. Application Goals ....................................................................................................25
3.1.2. Summary of Application Function...........................................................................26
3.2. User Requirements ............................................................................................................26
3.2.1. Community Members as Users ................................................................................27
3.2.2. OneIsland as the User ..............................................................................................29
3.2.3. Functional Requirements .........................................................................................30
3.3. Design Principles for the Web Map Application ..............................................................31
3.3.1. Simplicity .................................................................................................................31
3.3.2. Community Interaction ............................................................................................32
3.3.3. Aesthetics .................................................................................................................32
3.4. Summary of Chapter 3 ......................................................................................................32
Chapter 4 North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application Development ................................. 33
4.1. Platform Choice ................................................................................................................33
4.1.1. Usage Limitations and Costs ...................................................................................34
4.2. Application Platform Considerations ................................................................................35
4.2.1. Simplicity Constraint ...............................................................................................35
4.2.2. Community Interaction Constraint ..........................................................................35
4.2.3. Aesthetic Constraint .................................................................................................36
4.3. Spatial Data Layers Incorporated......................................................................................39
4.3.1. Review of Spatial Data Layers ................................................................................43
4.3.2. Output Data ..............................................................................................................44
4.4. Widgets within the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application .............................46

v
4.4.1. Contribute Your Places Widget ...............................................................................46
4.4.2. Print Widget .............................................................................................................47
4.4.3. Favorite Locations Widget .......................................................................................48
4.4.4. OneIsland Workflow ................................................................................................48
4.5. Preliminary Review of the Web Application ....................................................................49
4.6. Final NKACWA Interface ................................................................................................49
4.7. Chapter 4 Summary ..........................................................................................................51
Chapter 5 Evaluation of the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application ........................... 52
5.1. Subjects and Design of Test ..............................................................................................52
5.1.1. Naïve User Test........................................................................................................53
5.1.2. OneIsland User Test .................................................................................................54
Chapter 6 Discussion .................................................................................................................... 56
6.1. What constitutes the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application? .........................56
6.2. Challenges During Development ......................................................................................57
6.3. Limitations of This Project ...............................................................................................58
6.4. Future Development of the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application ................60
6.4.1. Improving Upon the Existing Web Map Application ..............................................60
6.4.2. Extending the Scope of the Web Map Application .................................................61
6.4.3. Use in Other Locations ............................................................................................62
6.5. Conclusions Regarding the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application ................62
References ..................................................................................................................................... 63
Appendix A Workflow for OneIsland to Use during Listening Circles ....................................... 67
Appendix B Spatial Data Handout for Community Members ...................................................... 79
Appendix C Splash Screen Map ................................................................................................... 81
Appendix D Icons ......................................................................................................................... 82

vi
Appendix E Metadata for layers included in the NKACWA ....................................................... 84

vii
List of Figures
Figure 1. The study area.................................................................................................................. 6
Figure 2. The ladder of citizen participation, as developed by Arnstein (1969). ......................... 12
Figure 3. The new ladder of public participation as created by Connor (1988). .......................... 13
Figure 4. A Framework for Geodesign. From Steinitz (2012). .................................................... 19
Figure 5. Steps to successful use of the NKACWA. .................................................................... 26
Figure 6. Study area of North Kohala within the web map application interface. ....................... 40
Figure 7. The 18 points of interest and future art or cultural locations and events possible for
users to choose from within the Contribute Your Places widget of the Web map
application ......................................................................................................................... 46
Figure 8. A screen capture of the NKACWA interface, with OneIsland's suggested parcels
and points of interest, displayed, along with major roads. Icons for the widgets
included are visible in the top right................................................................................... 50

viii
List of Tables
Table 1. Spatial questions community members may raise and related data layers. .................... 29
Table 2. Rate at which service credits are consumed in AGOL. .................................................. 34
Table 3. Spatial data requested by OneIsland ............................................................................... 40
Table 4. Data layer name, description, and data source. ............................................................... 42

ix
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to my mentor, Professor Kemp, for the direction I needed and my other faculty who
gave me assistance when I needed it. I would like to thank my employer, EFI Global, who
allowed me to make this project a priority when it came down to the wire.

To those who helped me through this process: Dr. Jennifer Swift, Dr. Bob Vos, Dr. Jennifer
Bernstein, Ken Watson, C. Jurden. Thank you all for your invaluable advice, willingness to help,
and time.

To those who have supported me always, in everything I do: Beau Haworth, Arlene Shults,
Frank Jasionowicz, Wally Shults, Shannon Hoskins. You have all been there to listen, pick up
the slack when I needed it, and even test out my work when I needed feedback; thank you so
much.

To those who have passed but still affect my thoughts and actions: Wallace Shults, Laura Shults.
The value you placed on higher education drove me to push forward when it was the last thing I
wanted to do.

x
List of Abbreviations
AGOL ArcGIS Online
CDP Community Development Plan
DEM Digital Elevation Model
GIS Geographic information system
GISci Geographic information science
LC Listening Circle
NKACWA North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application
PPGIS Public Participation Geographic Information Systems
SSI Spatial Sciences Institute
TMK Tax Map Key
USC University of Southern California
UX/UI User Experience/User Interface

xi
Abstract
North Kohala, the northwestern district on the island of Hawai`i, does not have its own local
government as is common in other states in the union. In the State of Hawai`i, the lowest level of
local government is County, of which there are five, each made up of one or more islands. Thus,
community development and other policies in North Kohala are governed by its Community
Development Plan, which outlines and provides guidance for development within this district,
overseen by the County of Hawai`i. The community of North Kohala desires to develop
guidelines and policies that will augment the vitality of arts and culture facilities and activities
within their district. A non-profit organization focused on sustainability and community building,
OneIsland, has been funded to assist by garnering community support through involvement in
the planning process. OneIsland intends to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and
associated technologies such as Esri’s ArcGIS Online (AGOL); however, as an organization,
they focus on sustainability and community building and do not have technical support. As such,
they needed assistance to create a web-based mapping tool which can be used to facilitate
communication during community involvement sessions called Listening Circles (LCs).
This thesis focused on creating a web map application that OneIsland could use to collect
community input regarding the locations of future arts and cultural events and establishments in
the district. The application needed to be simple non-web programmers and general public
internet users to operate and manage while incorporating local artistry in the form of icons and a
splash screen map. A workflow was generated for OneIsland to follow until they had become
familiar with the platform used. Use tests with OneIsland and two unrelated naïve users indicated
that the web map application and supporting workflow were simple to use and follow while still
allowing OneIsland to collect community input.

1

Chapter 1 Introduction
On the island of Hawai`i, the Community of North Kohala has a Community Development Plan,
or CDP, that outlines the vision, goals, and other key development elements for the District. The
preservation of sites with cultural and social importance remains an important consideration of
government action in Hawai`i. The vision for the Community of North Kohala is detailed at the
opening of their CDP:
We are a community that respects, preserves and honors our history, our
land, and our diverse culture. We value access to our shores, our forests, and our
streams.
We have a broad range of programs for our youth that includes work on
the land. We have good social services, recreation, health, and education.
We are friendly and hard working people, which enables us to continue to
build our small businesses and create jobs as part of our sustainable economic
development.
We have a strong community voice in the development of affordable
housing, the use of our land, and the development of alternative energy sources.
‘Ohana and the Spirit of Aloha are the foundations of our community
(County of Hawai’i, Townscape Inc., and the North Kohala Community 2008, 3).

The connection between the people, the land, and their history is clear in their community
vision. The goal of the CDP is to “manage the future growth of the district in a manner that is
consistent with the Kohala lifestyle and ideals of being a community with a strong cultural
heritage, an agricultural base, and a small town feel” (North Kohala CDP 2008, 19). The Kohala
lifestyle, according to the CDP, is based on sharing between each other, reliance on available
natural resources, and coming together as a community when and where help is needed.
The CDP acts not only as a road map for the goals of the community but is also a County
ordinance, which gives the plans detailed in the CDP the “force of law” (County of Hawai’i,
Townscape Inc., and the North Kohala Community 2008, 5). North Kohala has also been
designated as a Cultural and Historical Preservation Community by the Historical Sites and
Cultural Preservation Subcommittee of the County of Hawai‘i Planning Department. This

2

designation affects the process by which land development is approved and carried out. No
districts in the County have yet generated a cohesive plan or way to carry out cultural
development objectives of their CDPs. OneIsland, a self-described non-profit organization
dedicated to promoting sustainability and culture, has involved themselves in the process through
applying for and being awarded grant monies to finance their assistance to the community of
North Kohala.
OneIsland intends to achieve their goal of developing the arts and culture by involving
the community in the decision-making process. For prior projects, OneIsland has used large
printed maps and sticky-backed notes to collect community input. The results of this process
cannot easily be shared with a larger audience and are difficult to save and compare across many
meetings. Using an interactive map allows the results to be easily shared, saved and compared.
Cloud-based GIS software is becoming more common and more user-friendly as technology
advances; this alleviates OneIsland’s need to have extensive experience with GIS before utilizing
its available functionalities in a community involvement project. However, OneIsland does not
have even basic experience with GIS or mapping in general and needs assistance creating a web
mapping tool that they can use to collect community input and is simple to use.
1.1. Preserving Culture in Hawai‘i
As outlined in the North Kohala CDP, maintaining community goals and preserving
aspects of culture that are inherently Hawaiian is important. OneIsland strives to maintain focus
on that topic by incorporating community-generated opinion and information into the decision-
making process with regard to the arts and culture in North Kohala. The following subsections
give a brief introduction to the impacts that Western and American culture had on the
development of Hawai‘i from the arrival of the missionaries in 1820 through to its statehood in

3

1959. By acknowledging this cultural background, OneIsland intends to deepen community
dialog during this development project. To understand how best to move forward, a look at the
past detailing the actions which led to the current societal structure is necessary.
1.1.1. The Americanization of Hawai`i
Hawai‘i has experienced the injection of American culture into its indigenous culture
since approximately 1820. It began with religious missionaries from the mainland traveling to
the island chain, spreading not only Christianity but Western education and ideals (Okamura
1980, 120). The shift from traditional religious practices to Christianity was accompanied by an
increase in education and followed by an event known as the Great Mahele (Okamura 1980, 120-
121). The Great Mahele occurred in 1848, splitting the lands of Hawai‘i into four categories
based on who could own the land, allowing private citizens to obtain ownership of land
previously under the purview of only the King (Borreca 1999). Approximately one-third of the
land remained in the King’s possession and the remaining two-thirds was divided between the
government, chiefs, and tenant farmers (Levy 1980, 854). Following this division, the Kuleana
Act was put into effect, allowing for fee simple transactions of the divided landholdings as
opposed to requiring historical or cultural ties to the land, the previous condition for land
acquisition. Following that legislation, most of the land was purchased by people from the
mainland and used for sugar production (HawaiiHistory.org, no date; Okamura 1980, 121). The
politics of Hawai‘i took on a more Western-based structure with the generation of a
constitutional monarchy, House of Nobles, and House of Commons in 1840, and universal
manhood suffrage in 1852 (Okamura 1980, 121).
The Western values and practices influencing Hawaiian culture culminated in the
controversial ending of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, though Hawai‘i would not obtain

4

statehood until 1959. The changes in religion, government and politics, economy, and education
had stemmed from increased Western involvement, and the imported ideals were adapted to
dovetail with Hawaiian culture (Okamura 1980, 121). Even with the cultural changes occurring
over a relatively short period of time, there are still inherently Hawaiian ideals and feelings that
have a bearing on society, namely aloha kanaka and aloha ‘aina, which, simply put, mean “love
of the people” and “love of the land,” respectively (Okamura 1980, 121-122). These values
extend past appreciation and value; rather, the love of people and the land implies that this
combination present in the Hawaiian Islands cannot be found elsewhere and must be appreciated
and maintained (Okamura 1980, 131-132).
1.1.2. OneIsland’s goals
Maintaining a distinct, unique combination of culture and values is a daunting process for
a community on its own; obtaining help from an organization dedicated to community building
lends direction and support to the community. OneIsland is a non-profit organization focusing on
generating stronger communities through arts, culture, sustainability, and other goals
(OneIsland.org). They have assisted communities with “local food system strengthening, art and
culture place-making events, renewable energy/green building, watershed protection, green
economy incubation, and health and wellness efforts” (OneIsland.org, no date). The 501(c)(3)
non-profit Heritage Ranch, Inc. established OneIsland in 2008, beginning with a project to
generate a community service program and create a place to educate the community through
sustainability demonstrations.
With over $2.8 million in funding to date, OneIsland has a reach into communities not
only in Hawai`i, but in Washington and California with the same intention: to foster the growth
of communities with sustainability and the environment in mind (OneIsland.org, no date). As

5

part of reaching its sustainability and community goals, OneIsland has offered over 250 different
informational events and they provide materials about their most successful events to help other
communities or groups offer similar ones. To maximize community inclusion, they use Listening
Circle (LC) meetings, which enable community members to voice their opinions on a given
topic, in order to support collaboration between different groups contributing to their projects.
OneIsland has become involved with the community of North Kohala to assist in
executing the arts and culture portion of their CDP. They intend to assist by increasing
community involvement in decision-making conversations and intend to use GIS to facilitate
their goals. Using Esri Story Maps to catalog oral histories from elders and generate a collection
of past cultural events linked to locations within North Kohala would bring the past to life.
Additionally, a crowdsourcing application reflecting current events and locations that indicate
the culture and art scene within North Kohala would allow community members to access and
upload data about what is currently happening and where it is occurring within the district.
Finally, and most importantly, OneIsland wants to collect community input and opinion
with regard to what they want to see for the future of arts and culture in North Kohala and where
they want to see it occur. The focus of this project is supporting this third goal, providing the
container within which OneIsland can not only hold the data generated by the community and
display it on a map for ease of communication but also to hold data that will aid in LC meetings.
This will allow community participants to see important factors for their consideration such as
roads, zoning areas, and current land uses at the parcel level.
1.2. North Kohala’s Governance and OneIsland’s Involvement
North Kohala is the northwestern district on the island of Hawai`i, the largest island in
the Hawaiian archipelago. It comprises an area of 125.5 square miles and has a population of

6

6,322 as of 2010 (The County of Hawai’i, Townscape Inc., and the North Kohala Community
2008, 1; U. S. Census 2010). This part of the island is home to many sites of historical
importance, including ancient temples and altar sites. Figure 1 displays the study area and
surrounding area.

Figure 1. The study area: the district of North Kohala and portions of adjacent districts, shown in
light orange.
The governance of individual districts within counties in the State of Hawai‘i is unique
among the 50 United States since there are no municipal governments; instead, districts are
guided by a CDP. The County of Hawai‘i has a Council of elected members responsible for
generating legislation for the county, as well as a mayor. As such, the CDP is considered a
county ordinance and contains legally binding policies, as well as policies that are to be treated
as guidelines and are not legally binding (The County of Hawai’i, Townscapes Inc., and the
North Kohala Community 2008, 4). There are few guidelines and no precedent in any CDP for
fostering the arts and culture within the community; OneIsland is looking to set that precedent so
other districts can follow or improve upon the actions taken in North Kohala (OneIsland 2017,

7

personal communication). The heart of OneIsland’s project is to generate community
involvement through LCs. Collecting the information from those meetings and opinions of the
community in a web map application that also facilitates the communication of that information
at other LCs or to decision-making bodies gives the community a voice. The container into
which OneIsland will place this data is inherently spatial and using GIS to support their goal will
minimize the effort needed to communicate opinions and information between interested parties
while maximizing the involvement of the members of the community.
1.3. Objectives of this Project
Previous similar projects that OneIsland has conducted relied on large, printed maps on
which citizens could place sticky-backed notes to demonstrate locations they were interested in.
The resulting paper map is not dynamic and cannot be changed or updated as new information
comes available. Also, the results cannot be shared accurately outside of the LC meeting and
data between various LC meetings cannot be compared.
Thus, to involve the community more deeply in the planning process for developing the
arts and culture in North Kohala, OneIsland decided they need an easy-to-use interactive
mapping tool with data loaded into it that will spark and inform discussions during LCs.
Additionally, the interactive tool needs to allow the uploading of data generated during
individual LCs for comparison and further discussion. However, community members and even
OneIsland staff do not have the required body of knowledge to create these tools. To fill that gap,
this project provided that required experience with GIS and online mapping applications so that
OneIsland can facilitate the community to express their desires for the future of their district.
OneIsland has a different timetable for completion than the required timeline for this
thesis; at the completion of this project, the first LC meeting has not yet taken place. The focus

8

of this thesis was designing and implementing a web map application for OneIsland to collect
community input that is simple to use and incorporates art generated by a local artist, not on the
actual use of the web map application during the LC meetings. While having a use test would
have been beneficial in determining the usefulness of the web map application in real time, it
was not a realistic aspect of this thesis given OneIsland’s extended time frame for completion of
their project.
A Web Application was created that holds freely available information necessary for the
community to make informed decisions about their desires for the future of their district.
OneIsland can operate the web map application simply and without expert knowledge.
There are three goals for the web map application that drove the project:
1. Simplicity of operation
2. Ability to collect community input
3. Incorporation of local art aesthetic.
The simplicity of the web map application was determined via a virtual walkthrough of the web
map application functionality with OneIsland as well as two walkthroughs with naïve users.
OneIsland also determined that the web map application was sufficient for sparking a dialog
between community members and collecting their opinions about future sites for art and cultural
events.
1.4. Thesis Structure
The remainder of this thesis is broken into five chapters. Chapter Two discusses public
participation and GIS software, case studies in community planning using GIS, geodesign
principles applicable to community input, and scientific communication. Chapter Three details
the requirements and design principles for the web map application. In Chapter Four, the

9

development phase of this project is detailed, with platform choice, data inputs, and included
widgets discussed therein. The results of the web map application in relation to the goals of
simplicity, community input, and aesthetics as evaluated by three naïve users are discussed in
Chapter Five. Finally, Chapter Six analyzes the completed web map application, challenges
during development, limitations inherent in the project, and future avenues of development both
for the current study area and future locations.

10

Chapter 2 Related Work
This chapter presents research regarding Public Participation GIS (PPGIS), GIS in community
planning, geodesign principles, and scientific communication considerations. Exploring success
and failures of other projects provided a framework for the design of the web mapping
application generated as part of this thesis. This chapter begins with an outline of what PPGIS
involves, followed by how it can be used to catalog community input, using GIS to facilitate
community planning, and how geodesign principles support community dialog.
2.1. Public Participation GIS
Public Participation GIS, or PPGIS, is the practice of bringing together GIS software and
principles to projects involving different user communities (Elwood and Ghose 2000). The goal
is to increase citizen involvement in projects that affect communities by utilizing GIS software.
Many different private and governmental groups apply PPGIS practices and principles to their
projects in an effort to incorporate citizen opinions and garner community support for their
projects.
As a field, PPGIS has many different interpretations, but what is common among all
interpretations is the use of GIS technology to deepen stakeholder or community involvement in
a given process (Schlossberg and Shuford 2005). The process of applying PPGIS to a project is
broken down into two parts by Schlossberg and Shuford: the definition of participation and the
definition of “public.” One definition of participation in PPGIS is indicative of an activity “that
individuals engage in” (Schlossberg and Shuford 2005, 16). This would be the definition of
participation relevant in the case of this project given the LC meetings OneIsland will lead.
Defining who should be involved in a PPGIS project can be challenging because of the
ambiguity in determining how individuals are affected by or have an effect on a given project.

11

Schlossberg and Shuford identify three general groups from which the “public” involved in a
PPGIS project can originate: those affected by a decision or program, those who can bring
important knowledge or information to a decision or program, and those who have power to
influence and/or affect implementation of a decision or program (Schlossberg and Shuford
2005, 18). The authors also supply a list of five questions to answer in order to better define the
public in a particular project:
1. Who are potential beneficiaries?
2. Who might be adversely affected?
3. Have vulnerable groups been identified?
4. Have supporters and opponents been identified?
5. What is the relationship among stakeholders (Schlossberg and Shuford 2005, 19)?
Once the “public” part of PPGIS is defined, the level of participant involvement can be
measured in a variety of ways. In the shifting political climate of the late 1960s, before PPGIS
existed, Sherry Arnstein developed a ladder model explaining citizen involvement ranging from
non-participation to complete citizen power (Arnstein 1969).

12

Figure 2. The ladder of citizen participation, as developed by Arnstein (1969).
The lowest rung of the ladder is “manipulation.” With this level of participation, there is
very little opportunity for citizens to affect change or voice their opinions. Citizens are simply
informed or educated about the issue at hand by those in power. The middle rungs of the ladder
represent levels of tokenism, where citizens are informed and are allowed to express their
opinions but lack the clout to have those opinions taken into account for the issue at hand.
Comprising the next two rungs of the ladder are “delegated power” and “citizen control” in
which citizens have control over certain aspects of the project at hand and complete control over
the project, respectively.
At the upper rungs of the ladder, citizen participation is split into three different tiers. The
least amount of citizen power and involvement at this level is the “partnership” rung, where
citizens can interact with the organization in power and entreat on their own behalf for
consideration of their opinions. While Arnstein’s ladder is thought-provoking and an important

13

first step in detailing citizen involvement, it was written specifically with urban projects as its
basis and its application. Other interpretations of the ladder with modifications applicable to a
wider set of projects have been generated.
Nineteen years after Arnstein developed and published her ladder, Desmond Connor
developed a different ladder designed to be applicable in urban, suburban, or rural projects
involving governmental or private sector agencies (Connor 1988). He felt that Arnstein’s model
was not applicable in many common PPGIS scenarios and that her ladder did not build on the
ideas from one rung to the next; there was no flow of ideas up or down the ladder.

Figure 3. The new ladder of public participation as created by Connor (1988).
His ladder begins with the rung “education,” in which the general public is given
information about an impending issue or project before the project begins, with the intention of
heading off displeasure or hostility before it can develop. The next rung up is “information
feedback,” where informed citizens are asked to give their opinion about the proposed project, its

14

solution, or other aspects of the project. Next, “consultation” steps in where education and
information feedback fall short; citizen opinion is still taken into account, but it is weighted
before consideration. This is typically done in planning workshops or similar events. Higher
rungs include “joint planning,” “mediation,” and “litigation,” in which one or more parties
involved in the project have legal jurisdiction and varies from simple workshops and meetings to
third-party conflict resolution, ending with the most complex resolution which involves lawyers
and court proceedings. The final rung is “resolution/prevention,” and any one of the previous
rungs can lead to the resolution rung of the project, as long as the citizens involved and the other
stakeholders consider the solution fair.
Arnstein’s ladder was originally generated to apply to urban populations and related
projects (Arnstein 1969). As the discussion above illustrates, there are many different
representations and reorganizations of Arnstein’s original ladder, each one redesigned to fit a
different kind of community or project. While such a ladder cannot be directly applied to this
project, the processes included informed the use cases addressed.
2.2. GIS in Community Planning
The ability for decision-making bodies to view and understand the desires of the
community in an easy-to-interpret format is due to improvements in technology and its spread
from higher-level government to citizen-run groups (Elwood 2002). Open interactive data should
consist of more than just a web portal housing, where interested parties can view and download
data; web map applications where users can interact with the data in a hosted format, without
needing to download or meet advanced software requirements, elevates the engagement of the
community and decision-making bodies (Szukalski 2016). The acting third party or organization
that will represent the citizens must not only commit to learning how to utilize GIS for their own

15

projects but also to host and maintain the data for collaboration with other organizations and
community members (Elwood and Ghose 2000).
In the following sections, three case studies detail how GIS has increased citizen
involvement in community planning and the struggles or successes that the different studies
encountered. The case study in Section 2.2.1 was included here as it provides an example of
work done by Sarah Elwood, one of the leading researchers in PPGIS. Section 2.2.2 covers a
geodesign case study, the principles of which are discussed in Section 2.3. The final case study
in Section 2.2.3 was included to detail a project that used interactive web mapping to involve
citizens in decision making processes for their community.
2.2.1. Case Study: the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association
Elwood (2002) conducted a case study on a neighborhood association involved in
community planning and utilizing GIS. The Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association
(PPNA) in Minneapolis, Minnesota is responsible for supervision of those implementing the
Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP). The PPNA is an elected board of
community members and strives to include all interested parties in the process of implementing
and supervising the NRP, including those who do not own property in the neighborhood but
participate in community events (Elwood 2002, 912). A nonprofit software developer created a
database of neighborhood demographic information, and other information, at the behest and
cost of the PPNA, but the only computer with access was housed in the PPNA office, and staff
typically were the only ones who accessed the data and utilized it to disseminate information to
the public as needed (Elwood 2002, 913).
Initially, the PPNA and community members intended for the database and software to be
available to the public. However, housing the only computer containing the data within the

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PPNA office limited the use of the data as well as the value of the data; residents without the
freedom to view the data within the PPNA office during business hours could not interact with
the data, and there is no portal or application for residents to access the data remotely and
interact with it at their convenience. Additionally, the software that the PPNA had available
required significant instruction in order to operate it correctly. As such, only trained staff were
able to conduct data analyses or create maps, further isolating community members from
interacting with the data about their neighborhood.
The PPNA counteracts this isolation by offering to extract any data that community
members need from the database and display that data in a map. Furthermore, the PPNA uses
GIS to monitor local neighborhood conditions through feedback from community members and
inform local government of undesirable conditions, where applicable. So, while the
implementation of GIS into the PPNA disempowered community members in one way, it opened
avenues of community interaction previously unavailable to the community. Moving forward,
Elwood (2002) concluded that making data accessible and simple to use for any interested parties
makes the effort of generating and maintaining the data more meaningful and rewarding.
2.2.2. Case Study: Caligari, Italy
Utilizing Geodesign methods and concepts, a collaborative effort by experts and locals in
Caligari, Italy led to a two-day workshop that determined ways to increase tourism and meet
other agricultural and cultural goals (Campagna et al. 2016). While initial stages involved only
Geodesign experts, these stages did not provide input or make decisions; rather, background
information for the workshop was generated, and participants were selected based on their
expertise, occupation, or other characteristics for interest.

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At the workshop, there were 32 individuals selected to participate, including experts,
academics, and students, as well as local interested parties from both the private and public
sectors. Ten maps had been disseminated to the 32 participants prior to the workshop, and the
participants were broken into six groups based on their community roles or interests. Groups
evaluated and ranked the ten given maps within their group, that information was processed by
the Geodesign experts and returned to the participants, who were then asked to choose the group
of changes that they felt reflected their goals for change within the community. This process was
made possible through the utilization of the internet and online GIS software. The learning curve
was minimal for the participants, as the Geodesign interface is run mostly by experts, with only
selection of existing options and input required of the user.
2.2.3. Case Study: San Diego Association of Governments
Placeways LLC uses CommunityViz software to meet clients’ needs similar to those of
OneIsland. They assisted the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) by building a
tool which they named Envision 2050, an interactive website geared toward community
members (Placeways LLC, n.d.). Users could interact with available data and choose different
priorities for the data provided and see how different rankings of the data affected the outcome.
Placeways’s project also uses three-dimensional representations of the data, which will not be
explored as part of this project. However, according to Placeways, this project successfully used
an iterative process of communication and approval to ensure all of the client’s goals were met.
2.3. Using Geodesign to Catalog Community Input
Carl Steinitz provides a basis for understanding and applying geodesign principles to
projects in his book A Framework for Geodesign (Steinitz 2012). Geodesign is “based on and
shaped by a set of questions and methods necessary to solve large, complicated, and significant

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design problems” (Steinitz 2012, 3). While this project does not have the scope or reach of a
large or complicated project, it is still subject to the requirements of such a project involving
community interaction. Using the knowledge that OneIsland has with regards to community
planning and input as well as their knowledge of the study area to inform design decisions of this
project conforms to Steinitz’s idea of collaboration. To Steinitz, the problems presented by
projects well-suited to geodesign principles “are beyond the scope and knowledge of any one
individual person, discipline, or method. Instead, such problems require both collaboration and
ways to organize that collaboration…simply because none of us knows everything” (Steinitz
2012, 3).
The principles of geodesign as they apply to this project and the iterative process inherent
with geodesign projects are discussed below.
2.3.1. Creating a Scope
The initiation of a geodesign project begins with a stakeholder, according to Steinitz
(2012, 35). Steinitz urges that data collection not be the first step in beginning a geodesign
project; “Geodesign should be decision-driven, not data-driven,” (Steinitz 2012, 35) and
illustrates his point with a story about two petitioners in a court each arguing that he needed an
orange, without giving more details. The judge does not ask questions about each petitioner’s
circumstances for needing the orange and, in haste to resolve the conflict, halves the orange and
gives one half to each of the petitioners. “Later, the judge found out that one had wanted the peel
while the other had wanted the juice,” (Steinitz 2012, 35) clearly demonstrating that before
jumping into a project, a finite scope for that project must be determined.

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2.3.2. Creating a Method
Steinitz (2012) utilizes a series of questions, asked and re-asked in different orders, to
develop a methodology for geodesign projects. The questions drive a series of models that the
collaborative team must work through. One of the types of models is the process model, one part
of which is similar to what will be used for this project. Steinitz asserts that when “process
models increase in their levels of complexity, we experience a corresponding communication
challenge. Models of greater complexity require more (and presumably better) science and more
effort, but the simpler levels are easier to describe and explain, and easier for the general public
and decision makers to understand,” (Steinitz 2012, 73) mirroring the challenge of this project
with regard to ensuring that the web map application is not too complex for OneIsland to use or
for community members to understand and interact with. Figure 1 below graphically displays
this concept, with process model types listed from least to most complex alongside increasing
scientific knowledge and effort into improving the model and inversely affected public
understanding.

Figure 4. A Framework for Geodesign. From Steinitz (2012).

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2.3.3. Conducting the Experiment
Steinitz cautions against using his book as a how-to; rather, he states that the “process of
implementing the methodology of a geodesign study is inevitably unique, specific to the
members of the team in its situation and geographical study area,” (Steinitz 2012, 83).
Essentially, every project will be significantly different from others and as such, no one
methodology or execution of the methodology would be appropriate for all projects. That does
not mean that general guidelines cannot be adapted to a given project, however.
Each step in the third iteration is related to one of Steinitz’s six framework questions:
1) How should the study area be described;
2) How does the study area operate;
3) Is the current study area working well;
4) How might the study area be altered;
5) What differences might the change cause; and
6) How should the study area be changed?
After working through the six framework questions with the various model types related to each
question, the geodesign team reaches a decision stage where they determine if the project is
successful. If the team determines the project is not successful, the team must return to the six
framework questions and work through them again. If the team determines they have been
partially successful, the scale of the project is either expanded or reduced, and the six framework
questions are re-worked, using the new scale. Finally, if the geodesign team determines that the
six questions and associated models successfully reflect the situation at hand, the study can be
presented to decision-makers. The iterative process that Steinitz developed ensures that there are
plenty of opportunities for the geodesign team to adapt the models associated with the questions
used to their needs.

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2.4. Scientific Communication
Scientific communication, as the name implies, deals with how subject matter that
requires specialized knowledge is disseminated to the populace at large. How can scientists,
specialists in their fields, effectively communicate complex issues or solutions with non-
specialist laypeople? With society shifting constantly, how to communicate with laypeople is
something of a moving target. The discussion that follows interprets scientific communication as
it relates to OneIsland and the people of North Kohala.
2.4.1. Increased Knowledge Does Not Correspond to Increased Understanding
There are many different scientific disciplines and many specialties within each
discipline; it is not strange that many citizens are unfamiliar with scientific innovations or
information. What is strange is that so many are skeptical of such innovations or information
when backed by facts. Assumedly, “a judgement when informed by scientific fact would tend to
be more favorable and consistent with expert opinion than one expressed without recourse to
such ‘objective’ knowledge,” but that assumption is not as valid as it would seem (Allum et al.
2008, 36). “The facts are assumed to speak for themselves and to be interpreted by all citizens in
similar ways,” (Nisbet and Scheufele 2009, 1767-1768) an eventuality that is not guaranteed. We
are a society of individuals, not all scientists, and each person thinks and reacts to facts and
situations differently.
The culture of the society in question has an effect on the society’s attitude toward
science, in “post-industrial societies, science is taken for granted, knowledge becomes more
specialized and a more skeptical and questioning public views science with greater suspicion,
while expecting it to deliver prosperity” (Allum et al. 2008, 37). While OneIsland is not
presenting anything as specialized or ethically questionable as genetic research or other new

22

technology, they are utilizing a relatively new type of technology to gather information and
support the community. It is logical that the community may not completely trust the online
platform used in this project to accurately catalog their opinions or display true spatial
information.
2.4.2. The Space Race: a Case Study
Nisbet and Scheufele (2009) used the era of the Space Race to illustrate why the deficit
model of scientific communication, that the public needs to have scientific knowledge and must
be educated to understand the concepts at hand, is worsening the divide between scientists and
laypeople. The time known as the Space Race, between 1957 and 1969, is idolized as a scientific
“Golden Era” in the United States with an “informed public pushing for large-scale government
investment in science” (Nisbet and Scheufele 2009, 1768). Surveys taken of the general public
during that time frame indicate otherwise. Withey (1959) and Michael (1960) conducted public
opinion surveys asking a variety of questions. Withey (1959) found that just under half of the
adults at the time had taken at least one course in science during their time in high school, but
only 11% of the population had completed science coursework at the college level (Withey 1959,
383). After Sputnik, surveys were completed detailing what portion of the American public was
familiar with satellites; 54% of those surveyed had not heard of a satellite before (Michael 1960,
574).
What had changed at the time was not the level of the public’s knowledge, but the level at
which they were exposed to science-related content in the media: “Two-fifths of … editors
reported double the [science] coverage; another two-fifths reported increases around 50 per cent”
(Withey 1959, 384). However, even with such large increases in media coverage of scientific
material, it was still covered less than other news topics (Withey 1959, 384). Michael (1960)

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found that opinions collected from Americans following Sputnik’s launch “did not indicate
unanimous psychological shock or national loin girding, as the press and many issue makers
have insisted” (Michael 1960, 581). So, the American public was not as well-informed or
science-minded as it seems from the events that followed or news reports from that time.
OneIsland utilizing GIS software to assist a community with planning its cultural
development is not directly related to the Space Race era in American history; however, the way
that they approach implementing the software within the community and utilizing it to collect
community member input reflects a new direction that Nisbet and Scheufele have identified for
scientific communication: “connecting to public values” (Nisbet and Scheufele 2009, 1774). To
them, connecting science and a subject valuable to the community makes a link “critical for
making sense of scientific information” (Nisbet and Scheufele 2009, 1774). Determining the
value or belief system of the community to be communicated with beforehand and framing the
communication to reflect their values or beliefs can lead to increased understanding of the
material by the community in question (Nisbet and Scheufele 2009, 1774). OneIsland is doing
exactly that by utilizing a new technology to involve the community in improving their culture
and art, aspects that the community values greatly.

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Chapter 3 Web Map Application Design
This chapter discusses OneIsland’s requirements for the functionality of the web map application
and design principles that drove this thesis. OneIsland has three main goals in their project to
contribute to the development of the arts and culture portion of the North Kohala CDP. These
are: detailing oral histories of elders to communicate past cultural events and importance,
determining current art- and culture-related events and sites, and collecting community input
regarding the location and nature of future arts and cultural events and sites. Creating what
OneIsland needs to support all three goals is too large a scope for a single thesis, so it was
decided the scope of this project would be generating an application for OneIsland to use while
interacting with the local residents during community meetings, which they call listening circles
(LCs), discussing where they would like to see future arts and cultural events in North Kohala.
The application titled the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application (NKACWA) would
need to be simple for OneIsland to operate, allow them to record input from community
members during LC meetings, and incorporate local art.
3.1. Web Map Application Requirements
Initially, OneIsland expressed interest in having a tool they could use to both orient the
community members at the LCs and to determine what effect a five-year investment in the arts
would have on the community. Orienting the viewer with an interactive web map was an
attainable goal. However, showing the potential for community improvement based on investing
in the arts was not an attainable goal with a simple web map; many components in that
determination are either unavailable or are not spatial in nature. Community improvement cannot
be directly measured; measures such as outmigration rate, change in average household income,
or average house prices might be used as proxies. However, these measurements are subjective

25

with regard to how they reflect the improvement of the community. Also, there are many
components of community improvement that are not spatial in nature, such as the feelings of
happiness within the community. As a result, this project focused on orienting the community
members present at the LC meetings by creating a web application for interactive exploration of
data about the district and collection of input from community members about where activities
and facilities should be located.
In order to successfully create a web map application that OneIsland can use during LC
meetings to record community member input, OneIsland’s expectations for the use of the web
map application were discussed. The following sections describe the process by which
OneIsland’s requirements were married with the constraints of the chosen web mapping
application platform.
3.1.1. Application Goals
The design goals for this project were threefold and reflected OneIsland’s desires:
1. The tool needed to be simple for naïve users. OneIsland and participating community
members are not GIS program graduates, many may not even have heard of web-based
GIS software. Overly complex widgets or involved analyses could overwhelm the users
and render the NKACWA useless to them. Customization of widgets such as that
discussed in Esri (2018) and Fili (2017) was not considered as part of this thesis work,
though this may be considered in a future iteration of the application.
2. The tools and spatial data layers incorporated into the NKACWA had to reflect potential
questions or discussion paths of the LC meetings. It must also allow collection of
community member input regarding the location of activities and facilities that foster
growth of arts and culture in the district. Predicting what participants will be curious

26

about and preparing for those questions will deepen and support dialog among
participants and preparing the NKACWA to respond to the community’s questions and
record their input will make it useful in deepening and supporting community discussion.
3. Finally, the “look” of the NKACWA had to have features that incorporate local artistry.
OneIsland wanted the application to reflect their project’s focus on the arts. Colors and
basemaps could not be too modern and the NKACWA must, wherever possible, reflect
the focus on arts and culture by incorporating local art.
3.1.2. Summary of Application Function
The following flowchart details how the application is meant to function in order to assist
with the discussion between community members and record opinions generated during the LCs.

Figure 5. Steps to successful use of the NKACWA.
3.2. User Requirements
The tools that the web application should contain were not readily apparent. To make the
components and shape of the NKACWA clearer, use case scenarios were generated for both
community members and OneIsland representatives, similar to those used in user-centered
design techniques. User-centered design collects data about the expected consumer through
interviews, observations, and other inputs, and uses that data to generate an end product that truly
• Points of Interest
• Aerial View
• Potential sites
Data
• Other points of
interest not yet listed
• Future sites for art or
culture
Community
Member Input • Contains all data
• Contains template for
community input
Web Map
• References Web Map
• Allows editing of
input layer
Web map
application • Community Input
Gathered in an
Organized Platform
Final Stage

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meets a client’s needs (Nodder 2017). The use case scenarios were constructed by determining
the relevant characteristics of the user and any conditions that need to be met before using the
NKACWA. Then, a success scenario, or set of steps that would lead to the NKACWA being
used successfully, was determined. Issues or questions that may arise during utilization of the
NKACWA by either category of user were identified.
3.2.1. Community Members as Users
Community members are at the heart of the LC meetings; they are the reason OneIsland
will hold the meetings, and it is the community members’ input that OneIsland seeks.
Determining what circumstances define the success of the tool from the point of the community
members and any questions that they may generate to be better informed through using the tool
gave the project direction. A use case scenario where community members were considered the
users helped determine what defines the tool as successful, what the tool should be doing, and
any potential questions that participants may have. The main success scenario for the tool is as
follows:
1. A community member has a question or a point to make regarding placement of a
potential art or culture enrichment location.
2. The area in question is pulled up in AGOL to familiarize participants with the
area and allow the community member to better articulate what her question is, or
further explain implications of the point she made.
3. A spatial data layer that reflects either the answer to the community member’s
question or an aspect of that question or potential answer (depending on the
question or observation) is already loaded into the map and is turned on for
viewing.

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4. All participants can now see the area in question, all related spatial information,
and can reach a level of understanding of what has been posed or suggested by the
community member. Further discussion will now be more meaningful and
accurate, although a conclusion may or may not be reached.
The NKACWA is not intended to solve community member issues or completely answer
any questions that may arise. Instead, the focus is on supporting the conversation between
community members by bringing in a visual component to demonstrate what the speaker is
trying to communicate, where possible. It is impossible to predict any and all questions,
suggestions, or issues that community members will raise. It is improbable that all of their
questions, suggestions, and issues will be spatial in nature. It is likely, however, that the
questions generated as part of the use case scenario represent some of the same questions that
community members will raise, and for those questions, OneIsland can be prepared. Table 1 lists
the questions generated during the development of the use case scenario that were spatial in
nature and could be discussed using the data present in the NKACWA.

29

Table 1. Spatial questions community members may raise and related data layers.
Question Layers
Will this location be accessible by foot? What is
the accessibility of this location safety-wise?
Basemap
What is the zoning of this parcel? What type of
permitting will be required to accomplish a project
here?
Zoning layer
What types of non-profit or government agencies
could benefit from this installation in this location?
Points of Interest, Trails
What will the cost difference be between two
similar parcels?
How will that difference be reflected in size,
accessibility, etc.?
Who owns the parcel(s) of interest?
TMK
Is this an appropriate installation or activity for
near schools?
Points of Interest
What else is around this location that would affect
the experience?
Points of Interest, Main Roads

3.2.2. OneIsland as the User
A use case scenario was also generated with OneIsland as the user. The main success scenario
for OneIsland is as follows:
1. LC meeting commences, questions and concerns arise from community members.
2. OneIsland is familiar with all data contained in the NKACWA, determines which
layers will address the community member concerns, and opens those layers.
3. Various spatial data layers are used to clarify, alleviate, or explain concerns of
community members.
4. Good questions that open up other avenues of consideration are triggered by the
NKACWA, answers for which may or may not be spatial in nature.
5. An understanding is reached among community members (note, this is not
necessarily an agreement, rather that each side to the issue understands the other)

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and, if it can be represented spatially, OneIsland can record the results in the
NKACWA.
There are two issues raised as part of this use case scenario that could have a negative
effect on the success scenario. The first is that OneIsland’s unfamiliarity with the web-based
mapping platform and spatial data generally could slow down the process of determining which
layers to turn on, while verbal communication between community members moves forward and
the tool lags behind. In this case, the NKACWA may be abandoned as the discussion moves
faster than the technology meant to support it. Additionally, another issue OneIsland may
encounter is if community members raise a question or concern about something that cannot be
represented within the NKACWA, whether it is a question about something for which data was
not available or if the question references an inherently non-spatial idea that cannot be presented
using the NKACWA.
3.2.3. Functional Requirements
The application must be easy to navigate, contain information that OneIsland can use to
deepen discussions with community members during LCs regarding potential future locations for
arts and cultural events, and maintain aesthetics consistent with the focus on arts and culture.
There must be easy access to and viewing of all data available; OneIsland should not
need to sift through scores of layers to find a desired layer. Additionally, common or populated
locations within the district should be pre-marked and navigated to easily. Ultimately, since the
LCs are real-time, verbal meetings, the NKACWA cannot lag behind the discussion. If the time
between a community member raising a point or concern and the associated information being
brought up for the participants to see lags, then the tool will fall behind the discussion and out of
use.

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3.3. Design Principles for the Web Map Application
The principles of design for the NKACWA were chosen to reflect OneIsland’s desires
and requirements for the NKACWA. There are three constraints that drive OneIsland’s
requirements: simplicity, community interaction, and aesthetics. The choice of what software
platform to use directly relates to the constraints. These are each discussed in the next
subsections.
3.3.1. Simplicity
OneIsland made it clear that the organization’s representatives are not familiar with the
use of web-based maps or GIS; therefore, the NKACWA needed to be straightforward to
understand for naïve users. Additionally, they felt it unlikely that the community members who
would partake in the LC meetings would be familiar with these technologies. It is possible they
may be distrustful of a tool that seems overly complicated to operate or impatient with a tool that
took a long time to process requests. As such, an “out of the box” application was decided on,
making it simpler for the end user.
Out of the box applications are available in ArcGIS Online and require little input for
arrangement of widgets and other application components. Esri has developed this functionality
to minimize the time and effort required by a developer or other type of user to get her web map
application running: what Law (2017) calls a “Swiss Army knife solution.”. There are different
themes programmed and ready for customization in the Web AppBuilder, the interface for users
to create web apps with AGOL, and many widgets ready for customization as well. However,
design constraints for this thesis were more complicated than any of the basic themes, especially
with regard to the need to resolve certain issues or to keep the tool from becoming too complex.

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3.3.2. Community Interaction
With further discussion, it became apparent that OneIsland intended to gather community
member input on where new locations for art and culture installations should be created. They
desired a way to catalog, separately for each LC convened, input about locations of interest from
the community members. They wanted to be able to count how many of each type of art
installation, art event, or cultural installation were generated during the LC meeting.
3.3.3. Aesthetics
OneIsland desired a “cozy” map; the colors, artistry, and overall look of the map could
not be too futuristic or garish. OneIsland requested that natural colors and aerial imagery be used
and that local artistry is incorporated in the form of splash screen maps and icons. This concern
arose because OneIsland felt community members would be more comfortable with maps that
look similar to paper maps. The aesthetics were tailored to OneIsland’s specific requests and
critiques.
3.4. Summary of Chapter 3
This chapter detailed the application goals, user requirements, and design principles for
the web map application. Goals for the application as well as a summary of its function were
summarized in Section 3.1.23.1. Section 3.2 outlined user requirements for community members
as well as OneIsland as the user and also outlined functional requirements of the web map
application. In Section 3.3, design principles of simplicity, community interaction, and aesthetics
were outlined for this thesis.
In summary, the application needs to be simple enough for non-technically competent
users to operate successfully, and it also needs to be able to collect input generated by
community members during LC meetings.

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Chapter 4 North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application Development
In this chapter, the platform choice is discussed along with its limitations. The components of the
NKACWA are discussed with regard to the three design constraints outlined in Section 3.3 in
addition to the spatial data incorporated into the web map application. Widgets configured for
this application are discussed in Section 4.4. Evaluations about the NKACWA are detailed in
Section 4.5.
4.1. Platform Choice
To fulfill all of OneIsland’s requirements regarding the simplicity of the NKACWA, the
ability to catalog community members’ input, and the aesthetics of the NKACWA, ArcGIS
Online (AGOL) was chosen as the platform. It is a website-based mapping software created by
Esri that allows registered users to maintain their data in Esri’s cloud server. Users are also able
to create web maps and web map applications using the website. This platform also comes with
access to the Living Atlas, a collection of data layers created and maintained by companies, state
organizations, and private users. The version for this project that is documented here used the
April 2018 updates. Using AGOL minimizes computing requirements and disk space
requirements, and eliminates the need to use complicated software such as the full ArcGIS
software suite all while meeting OneIsland’s requirements. Other cloud-based GIS platforms are
available; however, the other platforms do not assert as much user-friendliness as AGOL does.
Esri, the creator of AGOL, has branded AGOL as a user-friendly, simpler version of
ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro, with many of the same functions and tools available without having to
host data or software on a local machine. This relieves OneIsland from holding many gigabytes
of data and software. Also, AGOL is accessible from any computer with internet access and any

34

smartphone, after logging in to an account. Therefore OneIsland and its participating members
are not restricted to use only computers with GIS mapping software installed.
Another consideration that made AGOL a more attractive choice is the non-profit license
Esri offers. After applying and being accepted, OneIsland was required to pay $100 for one year
of access with 1000 service credits. Similar individual access costs approximately $500 per year
and includes only 500 service credits. The package available for nonprofits from Esri gives
OneIsland access to advanced mapping tools and content at a greatly reduced rate compared to a
“normal” user.
4.1.1. Usage Limitations and Costs
OneIsland is limited by the credit system AGOL institutes; their nonprofit license comes
with fixed number of credits as well as an administration fee per year. The need for credits
beyond that initial amount incurs a fee. Avoiding analyses and operations that consume large
numbers of credits was important and emphasized the need for a simplistic approach to the
NKACWA.
Many tools available for use in AGOL consume credits. Even storage consumes credits.
Accessing data, using AGOL basemaps, exporting data, and searching for a single address do not
consume credits. Table 2 details the credit consumption for selected services.
Table 2. Rate at which service credits are consumed in AGOL.
Service Credit consumption rate
Feature services storage
(excluding feature attachments)
2.4 credits per 10 MB stored monthly based on hourly
calculations of storage per month
Spatial analysis
1 credit per 1000 features (queried for Find Existing
Locations and Derive New Locations analysis tools)
Data enrichment
10 credits per 1000 attributes (data variables multiplied
by total feature records)

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To limit credit consumption, Spatial Analysis and Data Enrichment tools were not
included in the NKACWA. This eliminates the possibility of unintended interaction between
OneIsland and complex tools that use many credits to cover the study area.
4.2. Application Platform Considerations
In order to create an application that OneIsland could use successfully during LC
meetings, the three constraints must be adhered to: simplicity, community interaction, and
aesthetics. How these considerations were applied within the AGOL platform for each constraint
is discussed in the following subsections.
4.2.1. Simplicity Constraint
Initially, tools were added to the NKACWA such as “Enrich Layers,” which allowed the
user to select a layer to which Esri would add information about businesses, population, and
other possible subjects. Unfortunately, during testing it was discovered that this tool consumed
large numbers of credits, charging a credit fee per record queried. Also, the data available from
Esri was broken down into census block groups, of which there are only 11, or by county, which
includes the entire island of Hawai`i. As such, the insight gleaned by using this tool would be
costly and not useful for OneIsland. Additionally, Enrich Layers has many options to choose
from and can be complicated to use for those unfamiliar with the AGOL platform. The tool was
removed to maintain simplicity, in keeping with the simplicity constraint outlined in Section 1.3.
4.2.2. Community Interaction Constraint
To catalog community member input by LC meeting date, a template layer was created in
AGOL that had categories within it generated from OneIsland’s specifications, detailed later in
Figure 4. Before each LC, OneIsland must create a new layer from this template with the date of

36

the LC in the title to differentiate easily between meeting records. The layer must then be loaded
into the Web Map that serves the NKACWA and made editable in the NKACWA. Then, during
the LC, OneIsland will use the Edit tool within the NKACWA to record user input.
The Edit tool and preparing it for each new LC meeting is somewhat complex for a naïve
user. There is not a better way to catalog community member input without building a custom
widget. However, since the AGOL platform was chosen for its simplicity and since all
components and all workflows need to be simple and repeatable for OneIsland, a pre-built
template was selected and customized for OneIsland’s use. To ensure that OneIsland was able to
complete this task, a detailed workflow document was generated for OneIsland. The workflow
identifies each step required to create a new layer from the template, explains how to add that
new layer into the Web map, and how to make the new layer editable in the NKACWA. Testing
how effective the workflow was is discussed in Section 5.1.2. The workflow document includes
screen captures to show the location of links and buttons that OneIsland needs to use with the
web map and NKACWA and is included in Appendix A Workflow. Additionally, in Appendix B
Spatial Data Handout for Community Members, a handout detailing the spatial data layers
included in the NKACWA was created for OneIsland to distribute to participating community
members during LC meetings. This handout was intended for use at the commencement of the
LC meetings to inform all involved community members of what information would be available
to them through the NKACWA.
4.2.3. Aesthetic Constraint
It was important to OneIsland that a splash screen map and icons created by a local artist
be incorporated into the NKACWA to keep the look of the application from being too futuristic.

37

To accomplish this, OneIsland commissioned a local artist to create a splash
screen map, found in Appendix B Spatial Data Handout for Community
Members
Name Description Source
Roads
• Main Roads
• Streets
Main roads only includes
those roads classified as
highways or main
thoroughfares. Streets
includes all main roads as
well as all secondary and
seller roads.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Eligible Parcels Eligible parcels are all parcels
highlighted by OneIsland as
potential places for building
art and cultural experiences
within the community
OneIsland, TMK data
Points of Interest Holds locations of schools,
hotels, fire stations, police
stations, and hospitals
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Zoning Subcategories of zones have
been grouped for simpler
identification.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Parcels – Hawaii County TMK-linked parcel data for
the county.
Hosted by Hawaii State GIS
Government Land Ownership Displays state, state DHHL,
county, and federally owned
lands.
Hosted by Hawaii State GIS
Public Hunting Areas Displays public hunting area
parcels.
Hosted by Hawaii State GIS
Top Ten Landowners The ten landowners with the
largest total area owned
within the study area
Derived from data
downloaded form the
Statewide GIS Program
State Land Use Land use categories generated
by the state.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Mile Markers Catalog of the location of
each mile marker along major
highways.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Na Ala Hele Trails Displays the path of Na Ala
Hele trails, but is incomplete.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
TMK Major Owners TMK data based on the major
owner listed and total area
owned by each.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Large Landowners The 10 largest areas of land
were extracted and displayed
Derived from the Hawaii
Statewide GIS Program

38

Name Description Source
based on the owners of those
largest parcels of land
Kamehameha School Parcels Extracted all parcels of land
owned by Kamehameha
Schools.
Derived form Hawaii
Statewide GIS Program
Ditches Lines displaying the location
of ditches in the study area
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Census Block Groups Displays the block groups
used by the US census.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Digital Elevation Model
Global Mosaic (Color Shaded
Relief)
Shaded relief of topography
and bathymetry
Hosted by NOAA National
Centers for Environmental
Information

39

Appendix C Splash Screen Map, and icons with familiar Hawaiian imagery to represent
the different types of art and culture events or locations that community members would be
interested in and for which they would discuss locations during LC meetings. The individual
icons are present in Appendix D Icons as larger images Appendix D Iconsand the icons as
viewed within the AGOL interface are present in Section Error! Reference source not found..
Aside from images created specifically for this project, the basemap and digital elevation
model (DEM) in the NKACWA were chosen to reflect OneIsland’s desire to keep natural colors
incorporated into the map, accurately representing the conditions on the ground with colors in
the layer. For example, arid regions should be more brown-colored while vegetated regions
should be green-colored, and water should be blue. A DEM with browns and greens to represent
elevation was chosen to avoid garish colors. A basemap of aerial imagery was selected to show
actual conditions on the ground, to help viewers situate themselves within the landscapes they
are viewing.
4.3. Spatial Data Layers Incorporated
Data layers were downloaded from the Statewide GIS Program maintained by the Office
of Planning for the State of Hawai‘i as well as loaded into the map from the Living Atlas within
AGOL. Data collected covered either the Hawaiian archipelago in its entirety or the island of
Hawai‘i and in either case, was clipped to a boundary that included all of North Kohala as well
as parts of South Kohala and Hamakua adjacent to North Kohala. Figure 3 displays the extent of
the study area within the NKACWA interface. Specific data themes that OneIsland requested are
detailed in Table 2.

40

Table 3. Spatial data requested by OneIsland, a description of the data, whether it was included
or excluded, name of any included data layer, and the reason for exclusion where applicable.
Data
Requested
Description Included?
Name of
Data Layer
Reason for Exclusion
Tax Map
Key (TMK)
Property numbers Yes
Parcels –
Hawaii
County
N/A
Department
of Hawaiian
Homelands
(DHHI)
information
Location of properties
that belong to the DHHI
Yes
Government
Land
Ownership
N/A
County
Water
Location of county water
supplies
No N/A
Not available for
security reasons
Electricity
grid
Location of electrical grid
tie-ins for properties
No N/A
Not available for
security reasons
Property
Values
Current and historical
values of parcels in the
county
No N/A
Initially included but
removed due to coarse
scale of spatial data
and inability to share
the map publicly
Figure 6. Study area of North Kohala within the web map application interface.

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Data
Requested
Description Included?
Name of
Data Layer
Reason for Exclusion
Wages or
Income
Wage and income rates
within the study area
No N/A
Initially included but
removed due to coarse
scale of spatial data
and inability to share
the map publicly
Landmarks
Schools, government
facilities, churches, hotels
Yes
All Point of
Interest
N/A
Functional
agricultural
land
Land currently being used
for agricultural purposes,
not just zoned as such
No N/A
Not available, only
zoning information
was available, not
current use.
Trails
Hiking trails within the
study area
Yes
Na Ala Hele
Trails
N/A
Commuting
population
Population within the
district that either
commute into the district
or out of the district for
work
No N/A
Spatial data available
at too coarse of a scale
to be of use.
Demographic
information
Age, population, race
ethnicity, income level
Yes
Census Block
Groups
N/A
Migration
Any portion of the
population that is leaving
the area
No N/A
Spatial data available
at too coarse of a scale
to be of use.
Potential
useful
parcels
Parcels available for
rental or purchase that
would be a good location
for arts or cultural events
Yes
Eligible
Parcels

Spatial data layers were initially added to the map individually; each different kind of
point of interest was in its own layer, each parcel of land OneIsland identified as potentially
useful was its own layer, and the TMK information was in its own layer as well. This
configuration made the list of layers impractically long and made it difficult to find any one
specific layer of interest. As a result, spatial data layers containing points of interest were
collapsed to reflect similar types of data and all layers were evaluated for usefulness. Schools,

42

hotels, fire stations, police stations, and hospital locations were collapsed into a layer re-titled
“All Points of Interest.”
Spatial data layers containing polygons were not combined, nor were spatial data layers
containing line data. Minimizing the number of point layers present in the list of layers
sufficiently reduced the size of the list and made it manageable. Keeping the information within
the map compact and easily accessible as well as minimizing the need for OneIsland to concern
themselves with credit consumption will make the NKACWA simple for them to use. Below is a
description of each included layer and the source of the data, as well as the date it was last
updated.
Table 4. Data layer name, description, and data source.
Name Source Last Updated
Downloaded or
Hosted
Roads
• Main Roads
• Streets
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
September 2012 Downloaded
Eligible Parcels OneIsland using TMK
data
April 2017 Downloaded
Points of Interest Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
May 2017 (hospitals),
August 2017 (police
stations), September
2012 (preschools),
October 2012 (hotels),
August 2017 (fire
stations), 2011
(private schools), June
2017 (public schools)
Downloaded
Zoning Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
November 2015 Downloaded
Parcels – Hawai‘i
County
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
December 2017 Hosted
Government Land
Ownership
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
April 2017 Hosted
Public Hunting Areas Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
November 2017 Hosted

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Name Source Last Updated
Downloaded or
Hosted
Top Ten Landowners Derived from data
downloaded from the
Statewide GIS Program
Derived from Parcels
layer, created
December 2017 based
on data updated same
month.
Downloaded
State Land Use Derived from data
downloaded from the
Statewide GIS Program
Derived from Parcels
layer, created
December 2017 based
on data updated same
month.
Downloaded
Mile Markers Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
2012 Downloaded
Na Ala Hele Trails Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
September 2017 Downloaded
TMK Major Owners Derived from the
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
April 2017 Downloaded
Large Landowners Derived from the
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
April 2017 Downloaded
Kamehameha School
Parcels
Derived from the
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
April 2017 Downloaded
Ditches Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
2004 Downloaded
Census Block Groups Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
February 2011 Downloaded
Digital Elevation
Model Global Mosaic
(Color Shaded Relief)
NOAA National
Centers for
Environmental
Information
January 2018 Hosted
Golf Courses Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
October 2014 Downloaded
4.3.1. Review of Spatial Data Layers
Once all available spatial data layers requested by OneIsland were either downloaded or
generated by extracting data from downloaded layers, they were uploaded into a web map in
AGOL for OneIsland to view and give their opinion on what else could be added, left out, or
adjusted. At this point, hosted data layers were added to the map as well. During this review

44

process, OneIsland was also able to familiarize themselves with the aesthetics, capabilities, and
limitations of the AGOL platform.
As a result of this review, OneIsland requested a layer showing surface elevation, as
some properties that seem accessible by foot have deep gulches running through them, making
access difficult. This request was addressed by adding a color shaded relief layer hosted by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
They also asked for a data layer that shows what parcels are owned by state or county
departments to help users discern which parcels might more easily be acquired, rented, or
otherwise utilized for arts events and cultural purposes.
To fulfill this request, a Hawai‘i State-hosted layer was added that allows the user to click
on a given parcel to access information about the current owner, parcel size, last price paid for
the parcel, and other information. OneIsland can use this information to compare different
properties of interest.
Also during this review, it was suggested that it would be useful for OneIsland to create a
list of properties they are considering for art or cultural installations to include in the NKACWA.
With this information, the properties they had flagged as potential matches were extracted from
the state-hosted data and added as a new layer to the web map. All metadata and details for
downloaded spatial data layers included in the NKACWA can be found in Appendix E Metadata
for layers included in the NKACWA
4.3.2. Output Data
While in use during meetings, the NKACWA will display only the layers chosen by
OneIsland, depending on the discussion amongst the community members at the moment. A

45

layer list and legend allow OneIsland to choose which layers are active and visible as well as
determine the meaning of the symbols on the map.
After collecting community member input about locations for future art or cultural
installments, a process explained in Section Error! Reference source not found., the attribute
table will contain each point generated by community members. An attribute table is a collection
of information about input data, either points, lines, or polygons. The table contains the
locational data associated with its contents, any names, dates, categories, or other information
provided when creating the individual entries. The attribute table for data generated using the
NKACWA contains the name of the point created; what type of art, cultural, or musical event it
is; its location, both in latitude and longitude as well as a field to enter the address of the
property; any comments the user wishes to add for the property, and a place to upload
photographs or files associated with the property. This attribute table can be displayed within the
NKACWA and sorted based on the categories of the locations proposed during the LC meeting.
There is a Print widget in the NKACWA that allows OneIsland to send a digital image of
the map as it is currently seen on-screen to a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. OneIsland
can then print this map for distribution to community members at the end of the LC. OneIsland
wanted involved community members to be able to take home a copy of the work done during
that LC to encourage continued thought after the LC is over.
Common locations within the study area were bookmarked to ease OneIsland’s
navigation during LCs. Common locations within the study area were determined based on the
clustered distribution of parcels chosen by OneIsland as potential locations for arts and cultural
installations.

46

4.4. Widgets within the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application
All components within the NKACWA and web map must not detract from its simplicity,
must improve the ability for community interaction, and must maintain the focus on local art and
aesthetics. The success of each widget in keeping with each of the constraints is discussed below.
4.4.1. Contribute Your Places Widget
The Contribute Your Places widget is the most important widget for facilitating
interaction between community members and the NKACWA. With it, OneIsland can record the
input of different community members regarding placement of future arts and culture locations at
the LC meetings. There are 18 different options for arts and culture available for the community
members to choose from. The options include not only arts and culture sites but also options for
existing sites that may not have been represented in the Web map. Figure 7 displays the 18
options and their associated icons. Larger versions of the icons can be found in Appendix D
Icons.

Figure 7. The 18 points of interest and future art or cultural locations and events possible for
users to choose from within the Contribute Your Places widget of the Web map application

47

Using the Contribute Your Places widget is not challenging; the user must only select on
the desired category of art event or cultural location and then select the location on the map
where the user wishes to see the art event or cultural location. This maintains simplicity within
the NKACWA as well as improves community input. The name of the widget is a “call to
action” for users, to guide them through the steps for using the NKACWA, similar to techniques
detailed by Gaigg (2017).
Following the LC meetings, all of the points generated by community members will be
cataloged within one layer per meeting date. After all LC meetings have been held and
OneIsland is ready to progress to the next phase of their project, they can add all of the layers
generated at each LC to a single map to compare results for each meeting, identifying any trends
or differences between the results for the meetings. The attribute tables of each layer can be
extracted into Microsoft Excel and sorted to determine how many of each type of art and cultural
event or location were placed by community members, as well as which type is the most popular.
4.4.2. Print Widget
The Print widget was included so OneIsland can share the results of the LC meeting with
community members in attendance; not all attendees are necessarily able to access the
NKACWA after the meeting and OneIsland wanted to be able to hand out a sheet with the
community input from the current LC meeting at the end, before attendees departed. The Print
widget sends an image of the current map extent with all active layers to a PDF, which
OneIsland can then print.
Extending the reach of the NKACWA via a printed output to those who are unable to
access the application on their own devices allows OneIsland to involve more community

48

members. A paper map is not interactive like a web map application; however, it does increase
community involvement, one of the three constraints of this project.
4.4.3. Favorite Locations Widget
Within the Bookmark widget locations that contain clusters of parcels, OneIsland
identified as potentially useful for their project within the study area are pre-set. During an LC
meeting, OneIsland needs only to select the tool and the desired region and the NKACWA
instantly centers on that area. This allows for much faster movement between locations under
discussion; however, jumping from one area to the next can disorient some viewers, especially
areas without sufficient landmarks to speed identification. Additionally, it can be confusing for
community members to attempt identification of common locales using aerial photography as
most of their interaction with the areas in question is in person, on the ground.
Ultimately, rapid movement between areas under discussion during the LC meeting
supports the LC meeting and ensures that the NKACWA keeps up with the discussion. While
some participants may get temporarily disoriented, OneIsland and other community members
can help re-orient them and bring them back into the discussion.
4.4.4. OneIsland Workflow
To assist OneIsland and provide instructions on how to prepare the NKACWA for LC
meetings, a workflow was created detailing how to create a new layer from the LC Input
template, load it into the Web map and prepare it for editing within the NKACWA. The
workflow was meant to be simple to follow, with screenshots of each step along the way and
arrows which point to where necessary buttons, layers, or boxes are located. This workflow
document is shown in Appendix A.

49

A second part of the workflow is a table listing potential questions that users may raise
during LC meetings. Associated with each question is a list of the layers that relate to those
questions so that OneIsland can quickly find and enable those layers within the NKACWA in
response to the question being raised. Also in the table are instructions on how to use the layer
related to the question in the most effective way, or, if a widget is required, which one and how
to use it.
4.5. Preliminary Review of the Web Application
Once the application was functional, a virtual meeting was held with OneIsland and an
associate to go over the available functions and data present within the Web map and
NKACWA. They felt that along with the workflow document, a series of how-to demonstrations
for various simple operations would be helpful to them as they learn to use the application. The
demonstrations they envisioned would show them how to add new data to a map, how to change
icons or symbolization within existing layers, how to reorder layers on the map, how to save
maps and layers, and other basic, general functions of AGOL, not the functions specific to the
NKACWA included within the workflow. Much of the focus of the meeting was on what was
available to OneIsland in terms of data, and much of what OneIsland wanted to see was changes
in symbology in accordance with the aesthetic constraint. While this informed further revisions
to the tools, it also highlighted some of the challenges in this project that are discussed in the
final chapter.
4.6. Final NKACWA Interface
Figure 8 displays the NKACWA in the AGOL interface as a potential user would
encounter it. To illustrate its functionality, the eligible parcels selected by OneIsland have been
activated, as well as points of interest and main roads. The Contribute Your Places widget, the

50

right-most icon in the upper task bar of the NKACWA, is what OneIsland will use to collect
location information from community members for future arts and cultural events. The next
widget to the left in the task bar is the Print widget, which allows OneIsland to print static, paper
version of the map at the conclusion of each LC meeting for users to take home and view again
later if they are unable to access the NKACWA on their own outside the LC meetings. OneIsland
can change the location in focus by using the Bookmark widget, the next widget to the left in the
task bar. Villages and towns within the district that have a concentration of eligible parcels
identified by OneIsland are pre-loaded into the widget for simple refocusing as needed. The final
two widgets, the Layer widget and the Legend widget, allow OneIsland to select any desired
spatial data layer and display the symbology for that layer, respectively.

Figure 8. A screen capture of the NKACWA interface, with OneIsland's suggested parcels and
points of interest, displayed, along with major roads. Icons for the widgets included are visible in
the top right.

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4.7. Chapter 4 Summary
In Chapter 4, the platform choice, considerations for that platform with regard to the three
main design constraints, spatial data incorporated into the web map application, and preliminary
review of the NKACWA were detailed. AGOL was chosen as the platform for the NKACWA
because of its reputation for user-friendliness. Data and widgets added focused on the need for
simplicity and community interaction functionality.

52

Chapter 5 Evaluation of the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application
Evaluation of the NKACWA focused on generating feedback from naïve users as well as
OneIsland and determining whether the tool met the three constraints outlined in the methods:
simplicity, community interaction, and aesthetics. To obtain feedback, testing was completed by
requesting two naïve users to complete the workflow intended for OneIsland. The selected users
were available during the time frame needed for testing, were not familiar with the AGOL
interface, and were amenable to completing the workflow in a timely manner. They were asked
three questions regarding the walkthrough following its completion. Finally, over two virtual
meetings, OneIsland completed the walkthrough two times and was asked the same questions
given to the naïve users. The combined feedback from the naïve users and OneIsland constitutes
the success of the NKACWA with regard to its simplicity, community interaction capabilities,
and aesthetics.
To determine if the most important constraint, simplicity, was successfully adhered to
when developing the NKACWA, testing was carried out by selected two naïve users who were
asked to follow through the workflow provided to OneIsland. In addition, two virtual meetings
with OneIsland were held to help them walk through the workflow and to discuss this and other
aspects of the NKACWA as it had been implemented.
5.1. Subjects and Design of Test
The two naïve users were chosen based solely on their lack of experience with the AGOL
platform and their availability to test the workflow. They were each asked if they were willing to
participate with full anonymity and both agreed. Each participant was asked to confirm their
level of experience with AGOL to ensure that they were truly naïve users. Neither participant

53

was familiar with the purpose for which the application was generated, the study area, or the
content of the NKACWA.
OneIsland, also a subject in the context of the testing of the NKACWA, are
inexperienced users. However, unlike the two naïve users selected, OneIsland is familiar with the
reason for the creation of the NKACWA, the study area, and the content within the NKACWA.
OneIsland and the two naïve users were asked three questions regarding the simplicity of
the workflow following each subject’s completion of the workflow:
1. Was the workflow simple?
2. What part(s) could be simplified, and in what way?
3. What else could be done to improve the information given in the workflow?
The subjects’ answers were recorded and issues or problems raised were addressed, where
possible. The following subsections detail the naïve user test, the OneIsland user test, and the
evaluations of the NKACWA by all subjects.
5.1.1. Naïve User Test
Each naïve user was given the workflow and a login for AGOL, but no further
instructions. The goal was for the workflow to be simple to follow with little outside assistance
as OneIsland will be preparing for LC meetings and working with the data on their own
following this project.
Following completion of the workflow, the naïve users were asked a series of three
questions relating to the simplicity of the workflow and any improvements that could be made.
Their responses were recorded in a Microsoft Word document and did not include their names or
any other identifying information.

54

Both users determined that the workflow was simple; however, both found small steps
that were missed in the initial draft of the workflow and these steps were added into the
workflow. This missing information identified required adding extra information on how to
make layers active, how to remove layers and other basic functions within the AGOL platform
not touched upon as part of the preparation for or use of the NKACWA. Their responses were
used to make improvements to the workflow provided to OneIsland.
5.1.2. OneIsland User Test
The same workflow given to the naïve users was sent to OneIsland in preparation for an
initial virtual meeting. During the meeting, OneIsland followed the workflow on their own
machine while watching a live demonstration of each step in the workflow. Any questions that
arose relating to the workflow were recorded. An issue was encountered with ownership of the
NKACWA; the way it was transferred from the AGOL Enterprise account of the University of
Southern California made it so that OneIsland was unable to edit the NKACWA. The
walkthrough was concluded at that point, and other questions regarding the NKACWA were
addressed. Questions regarding the functionality of the Legend as well as the ability to group
layers were answered; specifically, the Legend is controlled by symbology within the Web map,
and there is no grouping of layers available in AGOL at the time of this project.
A second virtual meeting was conducted after rectifying the NKACWA editing issue for
OneIsland. The workflow was again gone through, this time OneIsland elected to simply watch
rather than attempt completing it on their own machine while watching it live. OneIsland felt that
the workflow will become simpler over time. As it stands, the instructions are simple, but
OneIsland does not yet have facility with the AGOL interface. They felt that they would lean
heavily on the workflow until the interface becomes familiar.

55

During this second meeting OneIsland also requested information regarding how to
change categories assigned to icons; obtaining access for others to view the NKACWA only, not
to change it in any way; the possibility of generating a layer of current art and cultural sites to
add to the NKACWA; and revising the workflow to include how to filter the attribute table.
In all, the product exceeded OneIsland’s expectations of what was possible using AGOL.
They did not expect the functionality or range of options available and expressed a positive
outlook for utilizing the NKACWA in LC meetings. OneIsland felt that the options presented
with AGOL allowed them to effectively collect, catalog, and analyze community member input
resulting from LC meetings. Time and familiarity will allow them to effectively use the tools
available in AGOL.

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Chapter 6 Discussion
No project comes without its challenges and limitations, and no project is only ever applicable in
a single situation. This project is no exception; there are many opportunities left for improvement
to the NKACWA as well as potential uses in other locations. What follows is a discussion of the
final product: a summary of the NKACWA and its functions, challenges, and limitations
encountered during all phases of the project, and potential future uses and improvements that
could be made to the NKACWA.
6.1. What constitutes the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web Application?
Three constraints drove the design of the NKACWA: simplicity, community interaction,
and aesthetics. The final NKACWA reflected these design constraints with a simple interface
and simple widgets while incorporating local art and allowing community members present at
LC meetings to interact and share their opinions.
The Contribute Your Places widget allows OneIsland to collect community member input
regarding potential locations for future arts and cultural events. This component was extremely
important to OneIsland, as they intend to utilize the opinions of the community to influence
decision-makers in later stages of their project.
OneIsland also desired for local art to be incorporated into the NKACWA and for the
aesthetics of the map to reflect that art. To achieve this, a basemap with muted colors, icons
created by a local artist, and a splash screen map created by the same artist were incorporated
into the Web map and NKACWA as well.

57

Finally, to maintain the simplicity of the NKACWA, only widgets that were simple to use
and did not consume AGOL credits were included. Additionally, a workflow with screen
captures and step-by-step instructions was created for OneIsland to prepare for LC meetings.
6.2. Challenges During Development
Many challenges during the development of the NKACWA stemmed from the nature of
the AGOL interface. Customization of the application template used in this thesis is possible but
would have been far beyond the capabilities of the client to manage and update over the long
term. Thus one overarching decision was to work only with the out-of-the-box solutions, such as
the widgets, with the exception of making modifications to address specific requests from the
LC. One significant challenge involved using the map icons created by the local artist, which
became a time-consuming practice. AGOL allows custom icons to be used in Web maps and
Applications; however, in order to set an icon to a custom icon, the image must be uploaded via a
link, meaning it must be hosted online. The 18 icons had to be individually uploaded into
OneIsland’s AGOL content and loaded into the Web map using the link generated by sharing the
icon from the Content page.
With all of the icons and symbols associated with other layers, the legend was very
crowded and difficult to interpret. There is little to no control over the legend in AGOL. The
grouping function available in ArcGIS Pro, ArcMap, and AGOL 3-dimensional mapping is not
available in AGOL 2-dimensional maps. As such, layers with similar attributes had to be
aggregated outside of AGOL, to minimize credit usage, and brought back into AGOL rather than
being grouped within AGOL to simplify the legend. This added complexity not only for this
project but also adds complexity to any subsequent similar projects.

58

In order to keep the NKACWA viewable by all interested parties, all Esri-hosted layers,
with the exception of the basemap, had to be removed. Many of the Living Atlas layers initially
added to the NKACWA, hosted by Esri, required any unregistered viewers to log in to an AGOL
account before being allowed to view the NKACWA, even though all other layers were shared
publicly. The challenge became a decision; keep the layers and limit who can view the
NKACWA or remove the layers, and the associated information in those layers, so that any
interested community member can interact with the NKACWA? Community interaction was at
the heart of OneIsland’s reasoning for being involved in this process, and so it was decided to
remove the layers obstructing public sharing.
In all, challenges for this project that arose during the development phase were not
necessarily difficult to resolve. Rather, they presented difficult decisions that needed to be made
regarding which path reflects most closely what OneIsland desires from the NKACWA, or they
were time-consuming to resolve.
6.3. Limitations of This Project
Initially, narrowing the scope of this project proved problematic. The compulsion to do as
much as possible and fill all the client’s needs is difficult to temper with time limitations inherent
in any project. The other two prongs of this project, collecting historical accounts from elders
regarding traditional arts, crafts, and dancing and collecting current cultural assets, the who,
what, and where for current art and cultural experiences, are also well-suited to a GIS mapping
solution, even multiple NKACWAs. Knowing that something can be accomplished and not being
able to complete all aspects of a project in the time frame allotted is a difficult thing to admit.
In addition to not having sufficient time to address all of OneIsland’s needs for this
project, there was not sufficient time to conduct a true use test. LC meetings have not yet taken

59

place, and therefore the NKACWA is untested with regard to naïve viewers and community
members in the study area. The feedback from community members at a LC meeting using the
NKACWA would have been helpful in determining if the NKACWA is complete and successful
from their point of view, not just OneIsland and other naïve users who tested the Application
with regard to the aesthetics, ability for them to interact with the Application, and the simplicity
of the Application.
Simplicity is inherent in the AGOL interface; Esri touts that AGOL is more streamlined
and user-friendly than the more complex, and thereby more capable, ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro
software. However, in its simplicity it can seem more complex for those familiar with the full
desktop software and it can still be overly complex to naïve users who have not encountered GIS
software at all before. It is difficult to communicate to a non-web programmer, general internet
user partner what AGOL is capable of delivering in order to reach an understanding of its
possibilities. Much time was spent attempting to communicate what is and is not possible to
accomplish within AGOL for OneIsland. Additionally, the aesthetic options are many, and a
newcomer is easily distracted by the many choices that are available. Steering early
conversations to obtain OneIsland’s requirements, desired inclusions and other expectations for
the NKACWA were challenging because of OneIsland’s lack of familiarity with the AGOL
platform. It was not only a discussion about what they wanted from the NKACWA, but also
what AGOL is capable of delivering as well as the method by which the desired outcome can be
delivered.

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6.4. Future Development of the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web
Application
The NKACWA, while complete in terms of this project, can always be extended in scope
and improved upon much like any project. Additionally, other locations in similar situations can
adapt the NKACWA to their needs, given that they are familiar with the AGOL interface or have
the assistance of someone who is familiar with AGOL. What follows is a discussion of further
avenues of development for the NKACWA created as part of this project.
6.4.1. Improving Upon the Existing Web Map Application
The existing web map application could be improved with additional data, as it becomes
available. Hiking trails are popular and common in the study area; however, no complete catalog
of the trails within North Kohala was available at the time of this study. One of the possible art
installations that OneIsland was interested in making available was an “art walk,” a hiking trail
with sculptural installations along its length. Having a complete catalog of trails in the area
would allow community members to discuss which trails would be most benefitted by the
addition of art installations.
Additional data about current locations where community members can seek out art
events and cultural events would improve the NKACWA as it stands as well. The community
members are discussing where they would like to see new art and culture events; knowing where
these events are already available eliminates community discussion revolving around facilities
and activities that are already in existence.
Utilizing User Experience/User Interface (UX/UI) principles to strengthen the existing
application would also be beneficial. Interviewing OneIsland according to Roth’s (2015)
protocol could lead to new widget developments or additions previously overlooked. The
protocol gathers user information regarding the correlation between her work tasks and spatial

61

data, having the user demonstrate her normal work tasks, and asking the user what she thinks or
knows about interactive maps. This deep interview process determines the extent to which the
user is involved with spatially-based data currently, the extent to which GIS-based software is
used to manipulate the available data and its fitness for the user’s tasks, and the extent to which
the user is knowledgeable about interactive mapping as a subject. Applying this process to
OneIsland and the NKACWA would be more structured and deliver a more cohesive picture of
what OneIsland knows and what it expects going forward with interactive mapping in its
organization.
6.4.2. Extending the Scope of the Web Map Application
After OneIsland completes collecting community input, they plan on bringing those
opinions generated with them to meetings with stakeholders and decision-makers in a planning
stage of their project. For this stage, OneIsland has expressed interest in modifying the Web map
to include all separate layers, as it was initially, rather than the simplified layers used for the
NKACWA, as well as all community input layers. They feel this will better allow them to
communicate with stakeholders during planning. Additionally, they could incorporate other
layers such as soils or transportation information to help determine building requirements and
access potential, more of a concern at that stage.
The NKACWA can incorporate elements of the two other prongs initially discussed with
OneIsland as pieces of their project: the “past” and “present.” The collection of stories and
historical information from elders on arts and culture, once created, can be added into the
NKACWA. The additional information regarding what is currently available to community
members for art education or display as well as cultural education, again, once generated, can

62

also be incorporated into the current NKACWA. These additions will complete OneIsland’s
goals for the project and greatly extend the usefulness of the NKACWA.
6.4.3. Use in Other Locations
The web map application could be used by other organizations similar to OneIsland, or
even by OneIsland for other locations that they are assisting with cultural development. In order
to use the NKACWA in other locations, though, they must modify the Web map to reflect the
new study area. For the most part, data was clipped to reflect only the study area related to this
project. Other layers hosted by the Hawai‘i Statewide GIS Program cover the Hawaiian
archipelago and could be used for projects elsewhere in the state. Anywhere outside the
archipelago will need different data specific to their location.
6.5. Conclusions Regarding the North Kohala Arts and Culture Web
Application
Working with non-web programmer, general internet user partners is challenging, but
communication and demonstration alleviate some of the issues that come with a lack of technical
knowledge. Using AGOL, touted for its user-friendliness, also lowered the need for a deep
understanding of the technology on OneIsland’s part, though not completely.
This thesis has accomplished the creation of a web map application that conforms to
expectations set by OneIsland. It is simple to use, allows OneIsland to record input from
involved community members, and incorporates local artistry through splash screen maps and
icons. The citizens in the district of North Kohala have a way to voice their opinion about the
changes to be made within their community with OneIsland and the NKACWA.

63

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Appendix A Workflow for OneIsland to Use during Listening Circles
Question Layers How to
Will this be accessible by
foot/what is the accessibility
safety-wise?
Basemap Turn off digital elevation
layer, this will show the
basemap. Zoom in to area in
question and see actual image
of ground/terrain.
What is the zoning? What
type of permitting will be
required to accomplish
leasing here?
Zoning layer Turn on zoning layer, it is
categorized generally, so see
provided metadata packets for
further information.
What types of non-profit or
government agencies could
benefit from this installation
in a given location?
All Points of Interest, Trails Turn on, zoom in to area in
question, see what is around
the parcel in question
What will the cost difference
be between two similar
parcels?
How will that difference
reflect in size, accessibility,
etc.
Who owns the parcel(s) of
interest?
TMK Turn on layer, click on parcel
in question. A popup window
will come up, and at the
bottom of the window is a
“qpub” link. Clicking the link
will bring you to the County
of Hawaii Real Property Tax
Office website, where
different land values are
present, current owner, and
other information.
Is this appropriate for near
schools or not?
All Points of Interest Turn on layer, schools are
symbolized as purple circles
with a white building
superimposed on it.
What else is around this that
would affect the experience?
All Points of Interest, Main
Roads
Turn on layers, zoom out
slightly from parcel, see what
points of interest or roads are
nearby.

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CONTRIBUTE YOUR PLACES TOOL
Before Listening Circle:
• We will make a layer for the current Listening Circle, based on the Listening Circle
Template layer. First, go to your Content in your ArcGIS Online account.

• Now, click on the “Create” icon and a drop down menu will appear, click on the “Feature
Layer” option. This opens a pop up window.

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o In the popup window, click on the tab for “From Existing Layer” and either scroll
through or use the “Search” box to find the Listening Circle Input Template layer.

o Once you find it, click on the layer. A pane will open on the right hand side of the
popup window asking to create the new layer from that layer or to close the window.
Select “Create.”

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o This brings you to a new popup window, where it asks you to select what layers from the
template you want to include in the new layer. Accept the defaults and click “Next.”

o A new popup replaces this one. Now we need to set the map extent for our new layer. Using
the scroll feature on your mouse or the zoom buttons, zoom and pan to the North Kohala area
from the zoomed out globe and then click Next.

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o Another popup opens over the old one. Here is where we name the layer, choose tags, a
summary, and where we want it to be saved. Enter the name you want, modify the tags as you
see fit, update the summary, and choose the folder within your Content where you want the
layer to be saved. I’ve entered example fields for all of that in the screen capture below:

o Once you’re satisfied with how you’ve filled out the information, click Done.

• The layer will be created based on the template layer, with all the same icons/symbolizations. We
just need to add it to the map off of which the Application is based.
• Return to your Content.
• Click on the North Kohala Arts and Community Web Map (NOT the Web Mapping Application).

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o Once you select the map, choose to open it in the Map Viewer.

• In Map Viewer, we can add or remove layers, which we cannot do in the Web Mapping
Application. This map is linked to the Application, so any changes we make here will show up in
the Application.

• We need to add the current Listening Circle layer. In the Map Viewer, there is a button called
“Add.” Click on it and a drop down menu will open. Click on the “Search for Layers” option.

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o This will open the Search for Layers pane, where you can enter a search term and search your
Content, the Living Atlas, etc. For starters, select the drop down arrow next to “In:” and click
on My Content.

o All of the files in your content folders will be there. You can either scroll through or use the
Find: bar to enter in a search term to help you find it faster. Once you find the layer you want
to add, click the “Add” link to the right of the name, and then the “Done Adding Layers”
button at the bottom of the pane.

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• The layer for the current Listening Circle is now added to the map, but we need to Save the map
to make sure the changes are transferred to the Web Mapping Application. Click the Save button
in the middle of the task bar.

• The last thing we need to do is make the layer editable in the web map application. Return to your
content in ArcGIS Online, click on the North Kohala Arts and Community Web Mapping
Application, bringing you to the overview page for the Application. Click on the “Edit
Application” button.

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o Now you will be in the Web AppBuilder for ArcGIS. Click the “Widget” tab, then the “Set
the widgets in this controller” tab in the pane that opens.

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o Hover over the “Edit” widget icon, and click on the pencil image that pops up in the lower
right hand corner of the icon. This will open a pop up window where you can edit the widget.

o At the bottom of the popup window is a table with a dark gray bar as the title bar. The
Listening Circle layer we added to the map in the previous steps should be visible in the
table. Make sure that the box below “Editable” is checked. Once checked, click OK in the
bottom right corner of the window.

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o The popup window will close and bring you back to the normal view. In the pane on the left
hand side of the window, at the bottom, the “Save” icon will now be blue, indicating that
changes have been made to the map that have not yet been saved. Click this button.

o Once it has finished saving, the icon will turn gray, matching the two to its left. Now you are
ready to collect input at the Listening Circle!
During Listening Circle:

• Open North Kohala Arts and Community Web Mapping Application
• Select the Contribute Your Places tool from the upper right-hand tool bar. A window will
open with all of the icons generated by the artist, labeled by function.
• Choose the icon that relates to the point of interest you wish to place within the edit window and
click on it, so it is highlighted.

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• Click on map where you would like the point to be.
o At this point the icon will be just a red dot. A window will pop up, allowing you to name
the point, detail the location, choose the date and time, add comments regarding the new
point, and add an attachment that might be associated with the site. Once you have filled
in the popup window with all the information you wish, click “Close” and click anywhere
on the map to see the icon representing your point of interest!

o If you accidentally click somewhere you don’t want the point to be, click on the point
that you accidentally added (it will change from the custom icon back to a red dot), look
in the Contribute Your Places tool window at the bottom, and click on the red “X” and
the point will disappear!

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Appendix B Spatial Data Handout for Community Members
Name Description Source
Roads
• Main Roads
• Streets
Main roads only includes
those roads classified as
highways or main
thoroughfares. Streets
includes all main roads as
well as all secondary and
seller roads.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Eligible Parcels Eligible parcels are all parcels
highlighted by OneIsland as
potential places for building
art and cultural experiences
within the community
OneIsland, TMK data
Points of Interest Holds locations of schools,
hotels, fire stations, police
stations, and hospitals
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Zoning Subcategories of zones have
been grouped for simpler
identification.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Parcels – Hawaii County TMK-linked parcel data for
the county.
Hosted by Hawaii State GIS
Government Land Ownership Displays state, state DHHL,
county, and federally owned
lands.
Hosted by Hawaii State GIS
Public Hunting Areas Displays public hunting area
parcels.
Hosted by Hawaii State GIS
Top Ten Landowners The ten landowners with the
largest total area owned
within the study area
Derived from data
downloaded form the
Statewide GIS Program
State Land Use Land use categories generated
by the state.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Mile Markers Catalog of the location of
each mile marker along major
highways.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Na Ala Hele Trails Displays the path of Na Ala
Hele trails, but is incomplete.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
TMK Major Owners TMK data based on the major
owner listed and total area
owned by each.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Large Landowners The 10 largest areas of land
were extracted and displayed
based on the owners of those
largest parcels of land
Derived from the Hawaii
Statewide GIS Program

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Name Description Source
Kamehameha School Parcels Extracted all parcels of land
owned by Kamehameha
Schools.
Derived form Hawaii
Statewide GIS Program
Ditches Lines displaying the location
of ditches in the study area
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Census Block Groups Displays the block groups
used by the US census.
Hawaii Statewide GIS
Program
Digital Elevation Model
Global Mosaic (Color Shaded
Relief)
Shaded relief of topography
and bathymetry
Hosted by NOAA National
Centers for Environmental
Information

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Appendix C Splash Screen Map

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Appendix D Icons
Icon Category

Coastal Site

Visual Art Learning Site

Outdoor Amphitheater

Art Exhibit

Farmer’s Market

Veteran’s Site

Art Walk

Hiking Trail

Hospital

Dance Pavilion

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Icon Category

Unique Animal Site

Historical Site

Library Site

Indoor Concert

Pavilion

Precontact Site

Religious Site

Cultural Arts Center

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Appendix E Metadata for layers included in the NKACWA

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87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

Layer Name: Hawaii Private Schools

Coverage Name: private_schools

Layer Type: Point

Status: Complete

Geog. Extent: Main Hawaiian Islands

Projection: Universal Trans Mercator, Zone 4 (Meters)

Datum: NAD 83

Description: Private School locations for the main Hawaiian Islands.
Preschool-only private schools are not included.

Sources: HAIS.org (Hawaii Association of Independent Schools), 2011.

History: Created by Office of Planning, 2011, using data from
HAIS's list of private schools in Hawaii.
1. Geocoded addresses from list using ArcGIS Online
Address Locator (TA_Streets_US_10.GeocodeServer).
2. Unmatched addresses were further researched using
various sources using TMK parcels, County Street data,
Google Maps, etc.
3. All locations were further verified using TMK ownership
data and satellite aerial photos.

Attributes: Points:

School School Name
Address Address
City City
Zipcode Zip Code
Website Website URL
Grades Grade Levels
Gender Girls, Boys or Coed
Island Island
Students11 Student Enrollment in 2011
Faculty11 Number of Faculty in 2011
Tuition11 Tuition in 2011

Contact: Joan Delos Santos, Office of Planning, State of Hawaii,
PO Box 2359, Honolulu, Hi. 96804; (808) 587-2895.
email: JDelos_Santos@dbedt.hawaii.gov

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Abstract (if available)

Abstract North Kohala, the northwestern district on the island of Hawai`i, does not have its own local government as is common in other states in the union. In the State of Hawai`i, the lowest level of local government is County, of which there are five, each made up of one or more islands. Thus, community development and other policies in North Kohala are governed by its Community Development Plan, which outlines and provides guidance for development within this district, overseen by the County of Hawai`i. The community of North Kohala desires to develop guidelines and policies that will augment the vitality of arts and culture facilities and activities within their district. A non-profit organization focused on sustainability and community building, OneIsland, has been funded to assist by garnering community support through involvement in the planning process. OneIsland intends to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and associated technologies such as Esri’s ArcGIS Online (AGOL)

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Haworth, Christina Meg (author)

Core Title Developing art-based cultural experiences in North Kohala: A community engagement project with OneIsland

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Science

Degree Program Geographic Information Science and Technology

Publication Date 07/18/2018

Defense Date 05/15/2018

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag ArcGIS Online,community input,community planning,geodesign,OAI-PMH Harvest,PPGIS,public participation GIS,scientific communication,Web map application,widgets

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Kemp, Karen (committee chair), Bernstein, Jennifer (committee member), Swift, Jennifer (committee member)

Creator Email christina.haworth91@gmail.com,christina.jasion@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-18280

Unique identifier UC11671359

Identifier etd-HaworthChr-6415.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-18280 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-HaworthChr-6415.pdf

Dmrecord 18280

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Haworth, Christina Meg

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA