San Diego River Restoration and Homelessness 

The San Diego River Park Foundation worked with VERTICES on a long-term community mapping project focused on urban river restoration and homelessness along the San Diego River. The project supported trash data collection, cleanup planning, landowner coordination, and homeless outreach through a custom Mappler data portal.

The project built on trash data collection that began in 2008 and later moved into a smartphone-based mapping system starting in 2016. Using the Mappler platform, survey teams collected waypoints, photos, metadata, and site conditions in the field, allowing the online map to be updated more quickly and making the data easier to analyze in GIS. The river was divided into survey segments, with teams rotating through areas so each segment could be updated regularly.

The goal was to use data to address real trash management challenges, including locating trash in dense vegetation, understanding land ownership and jurisdiction, identifying the right tools and volunteers for cleanup, and coordinating with landowners, public agencies, law enforcement, hazardous waste disposal teams, funders, and homeless outreach organizations. The project also helped partners understand how environmental restoration and homelessness intersect in the riverbed.

The data was used for reports, stakeholder meetings, grant applications, media updates, and coordination with homeless outreach partners. The data helped support environmental outcomes such as large-scale trash removal, as well as human-service outcomes including increased riverbed outreach resources, housing placements, and case management support.

Project Link