Top College Campus Map Trends of 2016

From CampusBird Blog

If you've had any experience using college campus maps, then you know how helpful they can be for students, parents and even employees. We've seen interactive maps become standard to help new visitors find more than just campus buildings. Now these maps help find various aspects to colleges most people otherwise miss.

At CampusBird, we're proud to design hundreds of interactive campus maps for universities around the globe, and it's always fun to see how our clients use CampusBird to create unique digital campus experiences, and to see the changes from year to year.

This year, many new college campus map trends have popped up. These trends continue to evolve, but we see many that cater to students personal lives or philosophies.

Many of these interactive campus map trends of 2016 range from inclusive resources to sustainability, which only helps foster more diversity in every educational institution.

On-Campus Inclusive Resources

Gender-inclusive restrooms have received a lot of attention this year, and many schools are using their maps to highlight the locations of gender-neutral restrooms across their campus.

One school is the University of California Irvine. Without map options to show where the restrooms are located, those looking for these gender neutral restrooms may not realize UCI has dozens throughout campus.

Gender Inclusive Restrooms at UCI

Colorado State University and Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California, have also added gender-inclusive restrooms to their campus maps.

Lactation rooms are another way colleges have made their campus more inclusive. The University of North Carolina just added new lactation rooms to its campus. The school now has 13 locations on campus where mothers can nurse privately. For new mothers also juggling school, access to lactation rooms can be a huge benefit.

Even meditation rooms are a new trend on numerous college maps, including Colorado State University.

Transit

Another college campus map trend we've seen is new transit options as schools look to encourage the use of public transport and mass transit options. Rice University was among the first to adopt a new system that allows campus map visitors to see - right from their mobile device - bus routes, real-time bus and shuttle locations, as well as the estimated time of arrival of the next two buses. Pretty cool!

Some schools like Arizona State University, are now using technology to show real-time parking lot occupancy - all accessible through the interactive campus map. ASU's map also shows the locations of car shares, which are super popular among students.

Bike Paths at ASU

We've also seen a growing use of campus maps to highlight bike paths and routes, and some schools like Texas A&M have even used CampusBird to create a virtual tour for cyclists. Fun.

Augmented Reality & Entertainment

The augmented reality game, Pokemon Go, was ubiquitous in the summer and fall of 2016, and we've saw a host of schools take advantage of CampusBird's flexibility to quickly jump into the fun, adding Pokestops and gyms on their college campus maps.

Pokemon Go Locations at Lane Community College

As some universities recently note, playing Pokemon Go on college campuses helps visitors connect to and find other landmarks around the grounds.

Boise State added Pokemon Go in their maps while adding something else unique: A triathlon course for those seeking entertaining athletic activities.

Catawba College has added other specialized athletic venues including mapping the on-campus disc golf course.

Sustainability

Many Millennial college students are living environmentally conscious lives, which they extend into college life. Many universities choose to use their maps to highlight sustainability initiatives, energy efficiency, recycling centers, and more

One of the most popular sustainability features is helping lead students to recycling stations. However, it's extended into more specialized areas like profiling solar technology on the campus.

A great example of this is Middlebury College. The interactive map highlights the school's organic garden, solar energy array, and the biomass gasification plant, as well as energy efficient buildings and more.

CampusBird is way more than just an interacive campus map. It allows you to profile all of the big or little things that make your school special, and makes it super easy for prospective and current students enjoy all that your campus has to offer. CampusBird really creates a powerful digital campus experience.