Prototyping as a User-Centered and Risk Reduction Approach to the Planning, Design, and Construction of More Sustainable Infrastructure

Designing for sustainability is a complex process that requires to reduce the perceived risk of designing out of the traditional method, to prioritize the end-users' needs and preferences in the design, while considering the product-service dual-nature of infrastructure systems. To address such complexities, this research looks into prototyping from design thinking. Prototyping is a feedback mechanism that enriches the design process by emphasizing user experience and removing designers' fear of failure. This critical step is often absent during the design of physical infrastructure (e.g., transportation systems, water systems), in part, because of the size and complexity of these socio-technical systems. This research aims to understand how civil engineers can adopt prototyping design for large-scale and complex urban infrastructure systems and how prototyping influence design cognition among infrastructure stakeholder groups. To measure the effect of physical prototypes on users and designers, the researchers conducted nineteen interviews with community members, engineers, planners, and city officials in two prototyped projects: a road network in Macon, Georgia and a re-designed city block in Akron, Ohio. The researchers coded the interviews for evidence of how prototyping enhanced citizen engagement and how the design team was willing to adopt unconventional designs after prototyping. Improved understanding of prototyping as a design methodology for infrastructure can lead to more user-centered and innovative solutions. This research provides tools to manage design decisions in engineering and urban planning better, and new approaches for urban infrastructure problem-solving. Future research can compare how this process may inform design if immersive virtual experiences are used to prototype.