Networked Urbanism

design thinking initiatives for a better urban life

Design critics: Belinda Tato and Jose Luis Vallejo, principals of Ecosistema Urbano

Creating tools for visualization, communication and action in the city. Online, mobile or even desktop applications that allow citizens to get involved in new ways. Designing interfaces that translate data from complex realities into actionable and easy to read/write elements.

PROJECT STATEMENT

The problem is the future strain on Portland’s transportation infrastructure, due to the expected population growth of 1 million people by the year 2040.

Portland is expecting to become denser, and though Portland’s population has increased, the congestion of traffic has not. This is due to Portland’s predominant bike culture. Portland is America’s biking capital, with a bicycle commuter rate of 6.3% vs. the national average of 0.61%. There is already an existing system of bicycle pathways through the city of Portland, so building new infrastructure is not the way to generate more cyclists.

Our intent is to help Portland reach the modal split goal of 25% bicycle trips taken by the population inside the metro area. (more…)


We have created page accounts to go along with our app. This allows for deeper connection and to get the ball rolling on creating this app as a marketable item. Also along with the use of Facebook and Twitter as base pages, we have created a hashtag that goes along with our app and pages to further group conversations and connections.

https://www.facebook.com/bikingportland

https://twitter.com/BikingPDX

#bportland

flyer

 

 

Here is a mapped out version of the development of the Bike PDX app so far…

Tree of App


 

bike pres_2.14.14

 

We constructed a survey to better understand the people of Portland.

 

 

 

 

 

CHARTS

 

Here is the mock-up of the base structure/design of the interface of the App.

app board

 


Pixel is a web-based application that enables the public to explore the city in entirely new ways. Through the collection and mapping of real-time public sentiment, Pixel also generates a layer of information that can provide planners and policy-makers with profound insights into how people experience the city.

"The

Pixel has been in development for several months, and the process has drawn on the input of numerous researchers and experts in a variety of fields at the intersection of design, technology, and urbanism. (more…)


MYPS is personalized cloud to ground cartography that reshapes both how we compose our farewells and how we receive the farewells of others.

A P.S. is an afterthought – an easily appended message that crosses our mind after we think we have said all we mean to say. Yet the postscript also contains our final words, which are actually quite powerful. When combined with the power of place in the development of memories, these afterthoughts can create meaningful journeys for our loved ones to revisit after we are gone.

MYPS uses the GPS capabilities of mobile devices in combination with familiar media sharing formats to facilitate the process of recording our shared memories so our loved ones may literally revisit them after our passing.

The following video is a preview of my final review “experience”. It shows how MYPS could tie together three generations of memories.  When my Mom came to see me in Boston, we visited the places my grandpa remembered from his own time living here during World War II.  After her passing, I will be able to revisit our route to see the memories she left behind.


I was invited to participate in a networking event by Ruth Faas, my main contact in Boston’s death-care industry, on December 8th in Arlington, MA.  Attendees included board members of both the Eastern and Western Massachusetts Funeral Consumer’s Alliances, Grief Therapists, Artists, Funeral Celebrants and Funeral Directors. Here’s what they had to say about MYPS…

MYPS Reviews


We have a beta version of Curbed City for selected test users. Once all the bugs are worked out, we plan on incorporating into www.curbedcity.com What do you think?

Curbed City Beta App


upload

Tuesday was game day. We took our idea to the ArchitectureBoston Expo first and to a working group at MIT thereafter. The feedback we received was more than helpful and certainly encouraging. We are excited to announce that the City of Philadelphia might be interested to pilot the project once we have a workable product.

Scott Liang | TJ McCourt | Benjamin Scheerbarth



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This week is dedicated to collecting data to test our hypothesis (overlaying objective and subjective locational data might yield surprising and insightful junctures that can prompt targeted interventions and learning). For this, we are using Gund Hall, the main building of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, as laboratory.

Follow this link for the online part of the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Hmga5pfhh6O-qWE6c0oSJbpWpZ56aS_2BRmbgfLuBMs/viewform

Scott Liang | TJ McCourt | Benjamin Scheerbarth


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networkedurbanism.com is a platform for sharing knowledge and design thinking experiences with the world around us, breaking through the walls of academia in an attempt to improve the society in which we live.