Design Thinking

Class Reflection: 

How does Design Thinking can contribute to identifying and/or addressing issues of sustainability?

Design thinking can be used to address issues of sustainability in so many aspects of our lives such as food, transportation, city designs and so much more. Design thinking allows for a unique way of addressing difficult issues. By following the techniques in design thinking, you can work to simplify complex problems. This can be seen through the podcast assigned in class, observations throughout the study abroad, and research done on the final project. For example, when exploring solutions for the issue of using resources but not depleting the hinterlands, we started out with brainstorming ideas. With more exploration into the topic, the simple idea of community gardens turned into a plausible solution. Our group researched new technology and farming techniques that help to make growing food more efficient and thus help to ensure people have access to these foods. Another example of this was in the podcasts. Every single idea such as the adaptive traffic light utilized some sort of design thinking. 

2-3 innovations that could be reused, applied, or developed to improve sustainability in the US:

1. One innovation that really stood out to me in Munich was the idea of a bike highway. While biking through Munich, I became very aware of all of the safety hazards bikers face. This is even worse in the United States as there tend to be fewer bikers and bike lanes. Implementing bike highways greatly reduces the constant starting and stopping bikers face and thus reduces the time of their commute. Time is something that Americans deeply value so this will make biking much more appealing.

2. When listening to the City of the Future podcast, one design I found appealing was the adaptive traffic light. This design allows for more efficient roads with the implementation of the “green wave.” This is the idea that if each vehicle/form of transportation is going at a consistent speed, they would not need to stop for a red light. This not only speeds up people's commute time but also increases safety since there will be less interaction between different modes of transportation (cars, pedestrians, bikers, etc). This could be very helpful all throughout the United States since driving tends to be people’s main mode of transportation and roads can become very busy. 

3. Another idea I would love to see implemented more in the United States that was discussed in the podcast is communal living. This system is focused on convenience and community. People are able to live together and share communal areas and appliances. This system is sustainable for the individual in that they can save money by not buying a lot of shared things and can grow a sense of community. It is also sustainable for the environment. For one, this requires less space to build in compared to each person living in their own house. This cuts down on the amount of wildlife and biodiversity being destroyed in order to build new properties. Additionally, by sharing things like appliances, each individual does not have to buy their own, cutting down on production.