Mobility as a Service in Detroit
Scenario Design
Generative Research
Team Project- MFA Integrated Design, College for Creative Studies
September-December 2019
The Problem
The formative years of one to seven lays the foundation for a child’s future in both school and life. Detroit is a city that has a considerable gap in the demand and supply of this service. In addition, mobility for accessing childcare services which are few and far between is tough as well.
Vision
A Scenario that improves the emotional journey of mothers in Detroit, by making mobility to access childcare for her kids an easy and non-stressful process.
Stacey Matlen, Hind Ourahou, Joshua Edmonds (City of Detroit)
Advisors
The Scenario
Inquiry
81%
of children under 5 yrs in Detroit need childcare.
of those children have no access
to registered childcare.
40%
60%
of single mothers in Detroit live
in poverty.
of women in Detroit use public transportation for their daily commute.
18%
- Census.gov
Hope Starts Here
IFF Tri County Report
Generative Research
Journey Mapping
The first step was to imagine the everyday journey of a single mother in Detroit. A rough draft of this journey was created based on our understanding of Detroit's working women's life and the public transportation system.
Immersive Research
Similar journeys in DDot buses, in rough weather conditions, were made to understand the factors involved in the everyday journey of a mother.
Observations were made both inside and outside the bus. The experience at Bus Stops, walking on pavements (considering the use of stroller), boarding the bus, inside the bus, and during exchanges were noted.
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Interviews with Childcare Centers
Interviews were conducted at three childcare centers: Bright Horizons, Child Time Detroit, and New beginnings.
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New Insight Obtained: A lot of mothers in Detroit work the night shift and need their kids to be at the childcare at odd timings.
Interactive Session with Single Mothers in Detroit
An interactive session was conducted with 4 single mothers at Detroit Parent Network, a Non-Profit Organization with a network of parents spread across Detroit. The aim of the session was to gain an understanding of the everyday journey from the perspective of the mothers.
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Research Tools Used
WORD GAME
Designed to understand the values and priorities of mothers with respect to child care and commute.
JOURNEY MAP
Designed to understand the patterns and barriers in commute.
STORY TELLING
Designed to understand the emotions and emergency situations in their everyday journey.
Ideation and Scenario Design
Our approach in moving towards a solution was to understand the negative emotions that a mother goes through in the above-mentioned situations and try to think of ways to change them to positive emotions.
Key Elements
The Neighborhood Micro-transit
The days on which walking a mile to the bus stop with the kids seems impossible, mothers can use this ON-DEMAND micro-transit service which picks them up from their homes and drops them at their chosen bus stop. Route optimization allows the mothers to plan ahead when hailing the service.