The context
Jesmond Residents’ Association (JRA) is a community organisation in the Jesmond neighbourhood of Newcastle. They have a strong link with a range of local civic amenities, such as the former public library as well as the Jesmond Dene. Jesmond Residents’ Association supports the ongoing maintenance and public availability of these amenities. Further, the organisation also helps organise events in the community, such as a monthly food market.
The Jesmond neighbourhood is a neighbourhood in the North of Newcastle. It has a strong owner occupier tenure in northern parts of the neighbourhood. However, at the same time the area is home to a large number of students that are temporarily in the area. In addition to its green character, home ownership of good tenure, students add an element of vibrancy to the area.
In terms of civic planning concerns, the city council has incorporated areas of Jesmond into its ‘Streets for People’ investment program. This saw some parts of the area being transformed through road layout changes for cyclists and pedestrians. An example of this is Brandling Park, which now incorporates a cycle route, connecting Gosforth, Jesmond, and the city centre. These investments provide an opportunity for a shift to more sustainable forms of transport, which is also a concern of the JRA.
In October 2017, the council goes out for consultation on the first set of proposed schemes under the Streets for People fund. There are a set of 20 projects that may be progressed in the Jesmond area. As part of this, the council uses CommonPlan, a website and online portal for community feedback. The system is not available to those who tend to prefer off-line interactions and the JRA is interested in you helping them gather additional views and feedback.
Your challenge
In this project, the JRA has voiced a concern with two separate but potentially connected matters. On the one hand there is a perceived lack of awareness of local activities and the wish for a project that could possible help inform residents as well as engaging them through a creative project, where technology and media might facilitate better communication of local concerns. One of those concerns is cycling and mobility. With the addition of new cycling routes that go in on local roads, there is a need and interest to find out if residents actually shift their mode of transport in response. There is an interest to understand which roads should be changed and how and whether any chances already made are well received or not.
Tony is interested in a practical output (‘product’) that could help engage residents and visitors in public spaces in the neighbourhood. The output he is interested in would ideally be placed in a set of venues for a limited time during December to gather views from the public. You are open to explore what this looks like. The basis of the prototype would potentially be one of the schemes proposed under the Streets for People project.
Your deliverables
The exact design of the deliverables will be up to you. However, the project will broadly result in the following:
- An easy-to-understand, implementable concept, explained via a ‘story board’
- An interactive prototype of your design concept
- As part of this, outline of user or device interfaces.