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Theory and Practice of Tangible User Interfaces

Thoughtless Acts

Submitted by andy on Mon, 10/20/2008 - 21:52

Assignment: Thoughtless Acts

Collaborators:

Photo: No Flat Surface Goes Unused

No Flat Surface Goes Unused

A shot from my neighborhood, where people often discard their unwanted items on top of newspaper racks. See the fast food beverage cup on top of the white newspaper rack? We don't have many garbage cans, so people go for the closest thing in height and location to a garbage can - the newspaper rack.

We could simply add more garbage cans, which our mayor is loathe to do, get rid of disposable paper cups, or we could redesign the newspaper rack so that it's:

  • rounded, or at least really curved on top so nothing can rest on it,
  • taller than waist-high,
  • or add cup holders like a car, so when people leave their items there they perhaps see how ridiculous it is and then seek out a proper garbage can.

     


    Photo: No Flat Surface Goes Unused, II

    Garbage cans? We don't need garbage cans!

    Continuing with the discarded garbage theme, here's a shot several blocks from the earlier shot. By not having any garbage cans available, either because they're full or missing, people often simply drop their trash onto the street.

    We could add more garbage cans, or work with locals (both people and businesses) to generate less garbage from the outset. We could also have the city clean the block more often.


    Photo: Since there's no mail slot...

    It looks like a newspaper slot...

    In this shot we see a newspaper jammed into an opening in a wall. The apartment building only has secured, locked mailboxes, so there's no way to really leave anything - whether it be a take-out menu, newspaper, flier, etc. - unless you simply put it on the ground. People get around this by putting items in this hole, which appears to actually be a gas and electric meter viewing window that's been broken out to make this storage area.

    We could redesign this experience by adding areas to place these types of materials, in particular looking at the mail slot for this apartment. (Aside: interestingly there were 8 mail slots and only 4 door bell buzzers). We could add a slot to the bottom of the door to accept these items. We could also work whomever left the item to reconsider the form factor they use for the item, perhaps changing it to something that hangs from a doorknob, fits under the door, or can be stuck to the door like a sticker.


    Photo: Lean to Sit

    Lean to Sit

    MUNI shelters in San Francisco often have folding benches for people to sit on, but one of my neighborhood stops does not have these seats. To get around that people lean on the safety barrier, which is used to protect waiting passengers from passing cars. The railing's paint is worn from this leaning, so it nearly calls out to people as a place to rest. However drivers in this area, particularly if they're driving fast, don't realize the person is leaning and not walking into the street, as the driver's view is blocked by the station shelter. Drivers often roll up to the stop sign and hit the brakes suddenly, thinking the person is going to walk into the street.

    We could address many of the acts here by redesigning the physical layout of the shelter. The barriers need to stay for safety, so we could add benches - or simply a lower bar below the upper bar - where people could rest. We could also extend the length of the shelter, or even add seats inside the shelter like other stops in the area.


    Photo: Requisite Bike + Parking Meter

    Requisite Bike + Parking Meter

    Here's the requisite "bike locked to parking meter because there aren't any available bike racks" here photograph. This was taken in front of a very popular yoga studio, where many attendees ride their bikes to/from the studio.

    As with other bike+meter problems, we could add more bike racks. The area does have many bike racks (see the second photo above, which is a the reverse angle of this shot), however they're always full during class time. The studio could consider offering secure bike storage inside.