1. Designing for
Humans:
Lessons from City Planning
Rebecca Nathanson
Human-Centered Design Lead
1904labs
STLX Conference
October 12, 2019
Grace Kyung
Project Manager
Urban Strategies, Inc.

4. Retrieved from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/pokemon-go-surged-by-building-community-1469419260‘Pokémon Go’ players in London. The game is bringing people together as they meet and share
tips in their hunt for virtual monsters. PHOTO: TOLGA AKMEN/ZUMA PRESS
Immersive technology
is changing how
we experience cities.

5. AR will impact experiences of...
● Navigation
● Tourism
● Social interaction
● Disaster response
● Education
● Medicine

6. We need to understand the design of “the
street” if we are designing experiences
that interact with it.
User Experience City planning
Immersive technologies in the
built environment (AR, VR...)

7. What is city planning?

9. Designing Safe Streets

12. Imagine
a
grandparent
or
eight-year-old
you care about.
StreetUsabilityTest!

14. What do we know about the
relationship between street design
and human behavior?

15. 1. When roads
are wider,
we drive
faster.
Image:
https://www.citylab.com/design/2014/10/why-12-foot-traffic-lanes-are-disastrous-for-safety
-and-must-be-replaced-now/381117/

16. 10 - 15 MPHSource: NACTO
https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/design-controls/design-speed/
2. As we drive faster, our peripheral vision
decreases.

17. 40 + MPHSource: NACTO
https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/design-controls/design-speed/

18. How do planners approach this
problem?
Change the street design
to alter behavior of people driving.

19. Traffic Calming
Demonstrations

22. 2015

23. More photos
Text
Retrieved from: https://trailnet.org/tag/calm-streets/

25. Grace add two more slides / photos?
Text

28. City Planning with a
Racial Equity Lens

32. Racial Equity
A STATE IN WHICH A PERSON’S LIFE
OUTCOMES CANNOT BE PREDICTED BY RACE.
When our regional systems (education, housing,
healthcare, jobs, transportation, and more) work
well for all people so that disparities are closed
and all residents, regardless of their race and zip
code, have justice and the opportunity to thrive.
(Forward Through Ferguson, 2018)

33. STL Redlined
Neighborhoods
Source:
Health Equity Works
1937

34. Source:
Health Equity Works
73 years later
(2010)

36. What can we learn
from city planning?

37. # 1: Design around the
needs of people.

39. Image:
https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/1280x868/https%3A%2F%2Fblo
gs-images.forbes.com%2Fjessedamiani%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F02%2FScr
eenshot-12-1200x672.png
Google AR
prototype 2018
Google AR Beta
Oct. 2019

40. # 2: Design for all ages
and abilities.

42. Text
# 3: Design a process that
empowers those
impacted.

43. Text
Retrieved from: https://trailnet.org/tag/calm-streets/

44. Text
# 4: Design for racial
equity.
There are consequences
when we don’t.

45. Imagecredit:TheNewYorkTimes
Source:https://fortune.com/worlds-greatest-leaders/2019/joy-buolamwini/
Joy Boulamwini
Algorithmic Justice
League
https://www.ajlunited.org/

46. Recap

47. 1. Design experiences around people.
2. Design for all ages and abilities.
3. Design a process that empowers those
impacted.
4. Design for racial equity.
Designing for Humans:
Lessons from City Planning

48. Questions / Discussion
Thank you!
Rebecca Nathanson
rnathanson@1904labs.com
Grace Kyung
grace.kyung@urbanstrategiesinc.org