A social network of neighborhoods
Overview
The I.DO system is a location-based neighborhood model designed to promote sustainable living through community engagement. It introduces three complementary tools to help drive behavioral change.
Originally developed as my M.A. graduation project in Integrated Design at HIT.
Approach
Using design thinking methodology, social innovation principles, and gamification strategies, I explored tools and interventions that could effectively support long-term behavioral change.
Outcome
1. A mobile app
2. An interactive community bulletin board
3. WE.DO — a local sustainability hub designed for engagement and action
My Role
I was responsible for the research, concept development, UX design for the app and bulletin board, logo and infographic design, storytelling, filmmaking, and editing.
Collaborators
With support under my direction from:
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Hila Padan – UI design
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Eli Dor – 3D simulation of the bulletin board
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Lee Shpasa Zlinger – animated illustrations
The movie illustrates a scenario using the neighborhood network through the community organization of a neighborhood music festival. The characters are the personas I created based on the survey and interviews I conducted during the research.
Design Thinking Process
Research
Problem
Solution
Design
The Problem
"The main obstacle to respond to the environmental crisis is how we as a society define success. What We Consider is wealth, competitiveness, entrepreneurship, wisdom, beauty, efficiency, originality, popularity. But what matters is not included: Integration into the Earth's ecosystems, contributing to the health of the system that gives us life, fairness and social solidarity. "
Lia Ettinger
The unique challenge in the urban population is the urban culture which underlies a fundamental experience of production and consumption for the inhabitants of the city and its users who are at the heart of the capitalist regime in which we live and the mental platform on which it is based; The sea of anonymity and the replication we are surrounded by.
Research
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The research process began by mapping the ecosystem across all stakeholders.
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A survey to identify challenges and barriers.
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Search for solutions that address similar challenges.
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In-depth interviews with Top Dwon stakeholders for inspiration and validation.
Mapping of The Ecosystem
Bottom Up Survey
The research process started with the mapping of the ecosystem I work with, the stakeholders and their challenges and obstacles.
I distributed a questionnaire entitled: Would you like to live in a sustainable neighborhood? The aim of the survey was to examine neighbours' familiarity with the concept of a sustainable neighborhood.
The main issue was:
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Do they think they have a sustainable neighborhood?
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Do they want to live in a sustainable neighborhood?
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How do they see themselves changing that?
54 persons completed the survey. Half of them are residents of my neighborhood, Neve Avivim - a neighborhood of over 12,000 people in a high socioeconomic status, with an SES socioeconomic index of 10/6.9. The rest of the respondents were from other neighborhoods in Tel Aviv and other cities.
I've clustered their answers to the barriers question to 3 main clusters:
Key Question
How can we take advantage of the behavioral change of an urban population and develop a perception of sustainability?
Top down interviews for inspiration and validation
Design
A sustainable neighborhood network based on incentives and rewards
The platform is intended to be a means of communication and public sharing between the municipality and residents. This allows the municipality to support residents' well-being and reward them for activities that promote sustainable development.
A reward model encourages network neighbours to rate and rank individuals for actions that support the community and the environment. While protecting users' privacy by exposing them only to their neighborhood and their choice.
The network is supported by collaborative complexes which serve as a meeting point for neighbors, study groups and exhibitions with a sustainability agenda.
The system's features encourage users to connect with each other to create neighbourhood events and projects, discussion groups, study groups, and resource sharing groups such as equipment sharing warehouses.
A local currency-based trading scene where the residents accumulate coins for both daily sustainability actions and volunteer initiatives in the community.
The Digital Bulletin Board - to make community content and activity publicly available. Map and highlight where sustainability projects have been implemented. Create a conversation among residents, and between residents and the municipality.
Reward Model
As a 21st century UX phenomenon, gaming is a powerful tool for designers to drive user engagement. By streaming fun game elements to applications and systems that are either instant or irrelevant to users, they are able to drive them to goals. Users enjoy challenges, whether they challenge themselves (e.g., use step-tracking devices) or try to win prizes (e.g., virtual “trophies” for network-based achievement). In addition, game dynamics serve as intrinsic and effective motivation per se, meaning users engage with the system because they want to. The ultimate goal is to make everyday tasks less demanding while encouraging users to be actively interested in achieving goals.
Personas
The personas are based on ethnographic research that includes a survey and in-depth interviews
Solution
Tools to create a sustainable neighborhood network
I . DO App
Bulletin Board
WE . DO Center
The I. DO app
The screens I designed for the project were meant to serve the scenario of the movie that tells the story of the I. Do system. These are central screens in the system, but they are not a specific usage scenario.
Registration for the neighborhood network is done using an ID number, or any other identifying information that ties a person with an address in the city.
The user will be exposed in the application to his neighbors, according to division into neighborhoods or within a certain radius from his place of residence.
Each user's personal profile will be confidential except for their ranking symbol in the system. The SHARE button familiar to us from other social networks has been replaced by a DO button to encourage action.
In designing the app's interface, I drew inspiration from content-driven apps and social networking apps, while maintaining functionality and simplicity.
Scenario & Wireframes
To introduce the concept of "IoT" I created a film that tells the story of the production of a neighborhood music festival through 4 personas. 3 of the personas are active at some level and one of them is a new member. The film combines the app, the billboard and a sustainable neighborhood center.
"Neighborhood" is the feed screen of the neighborhood network.
In the 'What's new? You will find messages from your neighbors and information about a sustainable lifestyle.
By clicking on the floating orange button (with the crayon), you can share thoughts and ideas with your neighbors.
From the menu at the bottom of the screen, you can quickly navigate to:
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My profile
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My groups
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My wallet
The "Neighbors" screen displays posts of the neighbors that a user follows
An example screen for a group within the neighborhood network - a camping warehouse group. As a neighborhood member, you can join the group, order some warehouse equipment, find out when the warehouse is open. As a group member, you can also share information and ideas and see when your next shift comes up.
A forum for group discussion and reflection. And the days are pre-Zoom and Miro days
Interactive Bulletin Board
The interactive bulletin board is the "next step" in the evolution of Tel Aviv billboards. It maintains its iconic cylindrical shape, in addition it rotates to allow a shadow spot at any hour of the day. Uses solar power and also serves as a wifi point and charging for mobile devices.
The design of the posters that embed in the billboards these days and replaced every month, already looks like large buttons inviting touch. Transferring to an interactive digital format will invite new content.
A Tel Aviv bulletin board from 1956. From the Tzalmania website. Right: Today's Tel Aviv bulletin board. Photographed in Ramat Aviv
The bulletin board can broadcast different content to visitors and neighborhood residents. For example, an ad for a Nick Kiev concert featuring an instant ticket booking link will be replaced by a neighborhood community-only content when neighborhood residents will pass by.
Simulation of the new bulletin board I offer
Members of the I. DO Network will be able to interact with the bulletin board using NFC technology and take action from the bulletin board and not just from the app. One of the key features of the bulletin board is a neighborhood map from the GIS that displays neighborhood information layers. A new layer will represent the ten points of "One Planet Living" for example, buildings that have solar roofs, community gardens, composts and other recycling facilities will be marked. Another feature is a neighborhood event log from which neighborhood residents can keep up to date and synchronized with their personal calendar.
On the bulletin board you can see the sustainability layer on the surface of the municipal GIS. Every realization of a sustainable lifestyle gets a click on the map. For example: community garden, recycling points, composting points, buildings converted to solar energy, etc. A click will open a window with information and a call for action, such as 'join'
WE. DO Center
The center of sustainability is primarily a physical place in the neighborhood. It can be a temporary building in the neighborhood like the simulated container or an existing building that is used for this purpose. All stakeholders will take part in the content.
The site will serve as a meeting place for newsgroups and study groups or as a community warehouse as well as neighborhood-led neighborhood workshops, an information library on sustainability issues and space exhibitions or marketing exhibits of products and services that encourage "one planet living" lifestyle.