Expanding access to housing in NYC
Type
Academic
Project
Capstone
Services
strategic design, user research, service design
Project Summary
Currently six months into a year-long research and design project. In phase one, my partner and I explored opportunities for design intervention that will meaningfully contribute to increasing the supply of–or access to–housing for vulnerable populations in New York City by examining the intersection of human, policy, space, and funding considerations. Phase two will include designing and prototyping an intervention based on our previously synthesized insights. The final deliverable will be a 10-minute presentation with all the research findings, a summary of our design process, key insights, and a prototype of our proposed design intervention.
Brief
In Fall 2023, I began my final Capstone project. We were tasked with exploring and applying methods from the evolving field of design research, identifying an area in need of innovation and opportunities for intervention in that area, with a special focus on underserved and underrepresented populations. This is a prerequisite for phase two (Spring 2024) of our Capstone.
In addition to conducting the research alongside my partner, Riya Rana, I was primarily responsible for defining our research approach, synthesizing insights, and crafting our narrative.
Approach
We used a combination of traditional scientific research and design thinking tools to develop a holistic, empathic methodology.
With guidance from our studio lead, an urban planner and community practitioner, we developed a design methodology deeply rooted in a scientific yet human-centric approach to guide us through the research phase and help us derive meaningful insights from a delicate, historically underserved target audience (those previously, currently, or imminently at risk of experiencing homeless.)
Research
Expert Interviews
User Interviews
Desk Research
Social Listening
Qualitative Questionnaire
Synthesis
User Journeys
DARN Map
(devices, actors, representations, networks)
Stakeholder Map
Personas
Define
Mindmapping
Problem Statement
Ideation
Opportunity Matrix
5E Framework
PHASE TWO
Design
Backcasting
User Journey Map
Wireframing
Low-fidelity prototype
PHASE TWO
Test & Refine
User Testing
Conclusion
Summary of Process
User Research and Synthesis
Synthesizing insights gathered from those with lived experience, service providers, academics, and real estate professionals helped us paint a picture of behavioral patterns, the psychology of housing, and successes and challenges of existing housing solutions.
Given the sensitive nature of our target audience, observation and ethnography proved challenging. Instead we relied on user interviews, expert interviews, and social listening to build our personas and user journeys. The user research phase consisted of:
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3 User Interviews (New York City)
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9 Expert Interviews in New York City, Houston, and Washington D.C.
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39 Questionnaire Respondents
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TikTok testimonials
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Tenant/landlord Reddit threads
Defining and Reframing
We examined this problem area from three perspectives (social connections, services, physical units), ideated, and then mapped our ideas in an opportunity matrix that considered both feasibility and impact.
Our intention was to identify the intervention that will have the most impact with the highest likelihood (or realisticness) of execution. We landed on two potential solutions, which we will continue to explore through next semester:
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How might we better support New Yorkers by reimagining the Section 8 Housing Voucher program to: Streamline facilitating agencies, Identify way to enforce oversight for income discrimination, Increase efficiency of voucher program to incentivize landlord participation, Ensure program is designed to encourage progression through the Continuum of Care, not maintenance at one level.
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How might we leverage temporary and modular housing solutions to increase housing in NYC, while reducing the amount of time that people spend homeless? We need more housing, but space is limited. The longer that people are homeless, the higher likelihood it is that their situation will result in long-term scarring, the more resource-intensive it is to rehabilitate them once they are housed
See our Final Presentation (Research Phase):
