Student-Developed App Revolutionizes Poly Canyon Experience
by Evan Seed
Poly Canyon: It’s home to Cal Poly's architectural wonders. Established in 1964 as a premiere learning space for students in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED), George Hasslein, the first dean of CAED, envisioned the stunning landscape as a laboratory for project experimentation.
Over the past sixty years, students have used these nine acres of vast, grassy hills to bring their most ambitious designs to life. Today, Poly Canyon houses 30 permanent student-built structures and is the go-to location for introducing students to Cal Poly.
Such was Parker Jones’s experience. Now a second-year software engineering major, he first discovered Poly Canyon during Week of Welcome.
“I was very fascinated that a place like that could exist so close to campus,” Jones explains. “It sort of had this... secretive appeal. [Poly Canyon] is something you sort of discovered on your own.”
Drawn in by the site’s natural and historical allure, Jones returned on many occasions to hike, stargaze and explore.
Parker Jones tracks his movement to each structure via the Poly Canyon app. | Photo Credit: Amelia Hazuki Tai; graphic design credit: Nhi Ngoc Duong
However, despite his growing appreciation for the location, Jones began to notice some concerns. For instance, he noticed that no map of the area seemed entirely accurate.
"It really bothered me that there wasn't an up-to-date map,” Jones recalls, describing misleading labels and improperly scaled paths.
Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Jones set to work on creating an accurate map of the canyon. Using a photo taken by a drone 500 meters high, Jones began to trace paths and outline structures. Eventually, the result was a product Jones was proud of.
Jones knew he wanted to find a way to make his map available to the wider Cal Poly community. He realized he needed to develop an app.
“It kind of clicked for me,” Jones explains. “An app is a very low-barrier way to get technology into people's hands.”
With this inspiration, Jones’s idea for the Poly Canyon app grew. Initially just a navigational resource, the application quickly became something greater as he rapidly developed new ideas for the project. For instance, Jones knew he wanted to incorporate the area’s history into the project.
“[The app] has definitely evolved to be more of an educational thing,” Jones explains. “When I found out the history behind the area, I thought... that's the missing piece.”
In search of deeper information on Poly Canyon’s background, Jones reached out to the Kennedy Library and worked with CAED students to uncover the location’s rich history. He used the knowledge he discovered to develop more features for the app, such as virtual tours and the ability to track which sites the user has visited.
Jones has valued CAED's welcoming community during the app’s ongoing development.
“I made a lot of friends,” Jones states, describing his experience working with CAED students. “We had this shared goal of researching and preserving the history of the canyon... they were super accepting and kind.”
So far, Jones reports that the Poly Canyon app has already seen “a couple hundred” downloads. His goal for the future is to implement the app for widespread use as an accessible tool for Cal Poly students to learn about the canyon as an iconic part of the school’s history.
“Someone’s got to take care of such an amazing place,” Jones states.
The app can be downloaded for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
