Cornell University Walkablity
Setting the standard for sustainable mobility for campuses nationwide-
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Under SYSEN 5740: Design Thinking for Complex Systems, my team and I undertook the challenge of studying and redesigning how students, staff, faculty, and visitors walk across Cornell University's expansive campus.
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Using...
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EMPATHY FIELDWORK
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DATA MODELING
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PERSONA CREATION
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IDEATION
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our team was able to imaginatively propose a system of themed walks, unique seating, lighting, & food stalls to encourage and better those who walk.
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MODELING
EMPATHY
FIELDWORK
In the initial stages, our team took thorough accounts of the community's insights, needs, and concerns that took us by surprise.
Over a few days, we mapped patterns and outliers from the data collected. Over time, we consolidated factors with overwhelming feedback into main focus groups.
PERSONA CREATION
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By creating 10 personas based on our models, we could better understand the general users served by our developing approaches. Personas also aid in empathic design ideation and make you we were always situating user needs first.
IDEATION
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How do we create a system that sets the standard for sustainable mobility? How do we generate routes prioritizing the safety, time, and enjoyment of those on Cornell's campus? The following weeks were dedicated to brainstorming accommodations for our personas.
PROPOSALS
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THEMED WALKS
Using Cornell’s history to develop themed walks can serve as both an attraction and motivator to walk in addition, an opportunity for branding.
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SEATING
Seating solutions provide rest stops for fatigued walkers, increase human interaction, and inspire users through its creative & sculptural elements.
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LIGHTING
Lighting can serve as scenic attractions, aid in wayfinding, and increase feelings of safety when walking around campus
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FOOD STALLS
Stalls placed on walking paths could enrich the pedestrian experience and provide an efficient and convenient way of picking up food or coffee on the way to class.
THEMED WALKS
The Boston Freedom Trail was a major inspiration when we formed our multiple Cornell Historic Walks. The Freedom Trail spans 2.5 miles across Boston with signage and key location points attracting tourists and locals to spend a day exploring the city.
Emotional Activity Diagram
SEATING
Seating designs prioritized the sculptural with the functional. Colorful, unique seating not only signals that a path is official and safe, but as seating is assigned a specific design to their space, visitors can better situate themselves.
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We sought for seating solutions that were:
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Colorful with unique shapes
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Nodular and multifunctional
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Robust and weather resistant
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Drainage for precipitation
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Inclusive for all ages
Vienna MQ Seating Inspiration
Current seating across the campus blends into the environment and is uncomfortable for the user.
Mockups
Emotional Activity Diagram
LIGHTING
Lighting installations such as Matt Hill's Corten Steel Sculptures, The Johnson Museum of Art, and James Turrell's Rice University work were all points of inspiration for when art and visual clarity enhance safety.
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We sought for seating solutions that were:
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Colorful with unique shapes
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Nodular and multifunctional
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Robust and weather resistant
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Drainage for precipitation
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Inclusive for all ages
Emotional Activity Diagram
Arts Quad, Cornell University Mockup
Libe Slope, Cornell University Mockup
In our fieldwork, students' reported Fall Creek Footbridge feeling unsafe and worrisome to take, especially at night. But because of the shortcut it provides, it is frequented nonetheless.
Fall Creek Footbridge,
Cornell University Mockup
Food Stalls
The low maintenance cost of food stalls, accessible storage, and pedestrian food and retail enrichment made it an attractive wayfinding option. With the Cornell Dining app, pedestrians can also pre-order on their planned routes.
Students heading to the engineering quad could quickly grab their morning coffee on Ho Plaza instead of entering a building and waiting in long lines. Note that the stalls are only placed in areas with pedestrian access only.
Emotional Activity Diagram
CONCLUSIONS
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The stakeholders were impressed that we prioritized enrichment, safety, and community tools as encouragement for pedestrian activity rather than signage. Our multi-faceted proposal, as it operates as a system, is more manageable and sustainable for the University. But with our team's extensive empathy fieldwork, we arrived at a system that met our user's values and needs.
