NYC Department of Design & Construction
Understanding New Yorkers in Relation to Construction
The NYC Department of Design & Construction provides communities with new or renovated structures such as firehouses, libraries, police precincts, courthouses, senior centers and more. Their staff also delivers roadway, sewer and water main construction projects in all five boroughs. They provide sidewalks, street reconstruction, water mains, sewers, and pedestrian ramps—quality infrastructure that is essential for a healthy, resilient city.
Objective
Conduct ethnographic research around construction sites to better understand the needs and painpoints of NYC dwellers.
Observation
Ethnographic Research
Research Analysis
Diary Studies
Tasks
FigJam
Google Suite
Miro
Zoom
Tools
Krystal
Shih Wen
Eva
Teams
My Role
During this project, I interviewed 5 people in-situ of a construction site on and around Front St in NYC. I analyzed what I gathered into an empathy map and then worked on creating the big ideas in an infographic that we presented to the DDC client. I helped create a diary study which I had a participant create over a course of 1 week documenting their commute details and thoughts around construction sites. I co-designed a workshop to help gather additional ideas around team building and construction.
Increased awareness of accessibility issues for NYC dwellers by interacting with our target audience in person and crafting diary studies.
The Challenge
Finding The Problem
What defines a New Yorker? Someone who is born and raised in one of the 5 boroughs? Someone who has walked the streets of the city more than they have driven in a vehicle? Someone who knows the ins and outs of the MTA system with their eyes closed? These are all relevant points but what we tackled in this project deals with a more common issue that most, if not all New Yorkers face - NYC construction.
If you’re a New Yorker, you’ve experienced the effects of NYC construction in some way, shape, or form. Whether that be a delay in your commute, having to cross a street to avoid a gaping hole in your way or the possibility of debris falling on your head, an elevator that has been inactive for the past few months or dear I say, years.
New Yorkers
The Audience
Speaking with the NYC Department of Design & Construction clients, we sought to help them understand the pain points of New Yorkers in regards to construction, their goals and expectations for finding better ways to inform people about the construction going on around NYC. To better understand New Yorkers’ needs, behaviors, perspectives, concerns, and ideas around the topic of construction, we had to speak directly to them.
The Process
In-depth Interviews
In-person interviews were conducted on site of the Front Street construction. I observed the area and saw scaffolding blocking businesses, illegal parking, slim lanes, a “Road Closed” sign, and yet the atmosphere was calm and peaceful… possibly because I went during their lunch break. Interviewees were encouraged to share their experiences with detailed stories and examples. Now, imagine an introvert like myself having to walk up to random New Yorkers and construction workers to ask them if they’ll answer a few questions for a school project. If you’re an introvert like me, you might know the struggle. I got some yes’s, and some no’s, but through the anxiety, I persevered and managed to interview 5 different people. With every interview, it got easier to go up to people and just ask. And with my whole team, the total of interviewees came to 11.
Observational Fieldwork
Interview Feedback
What we learned from them was that they were confused about the purpose and schedule of the construction site, their work was affected by the construction noise and transportation became inconvenient. Businesses complained about it blocking their stores and there was a lack of signage directing people where they should walk. They find out about construction information from apps like Citizen and Con Edison, from social media, emails, google maps, or physical signage. The main pain points were that there was a lack of visual communication between the NYC DDC and New Yorkers, there was a lack of interest in what they were actually doing, and it’s bad for business. From these 3 main points, I constructed 3 main questions to address,
How can we increase awareness of the completion dates, safety instructions, and reasons for the construction?
How can we get passerbys and commuters engaged with the details of the construction? Does it make sense to focus on that?
How can we help maintain the visibility of these businesses despite being blocked partially by construction?
Diary Studies
To go more in depth with understanding the struggles New Yorkers face in regard to construction, we made a diary study focusing on a common New Yorker’s daily transportation routine. The diary study included 3 participants and lasted for a week. Participants were asked to write down the steps of their commute as well as the emotions they feel throughout it. Participants created a mood board where they uploaded artifacts (pictures/audio recordings/voice memos), gifs, memes, videos, etc. that relates to their emotions about the construction sites or commute they saw on a daily basis.
Research Analysis
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Learn about commuters' behaviors, thoughts, and emotions while commuting.
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Facilitate the relationship and connectivity between people with a construction site.
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Test what information is essential for commuters, and if existing information systems can satisfy their needs and how it works.
Journey Maps
From there, we created journey maps that analyzed their diary studies which helped us understand where in their journey they had the most concerns.
Research Analysis
Affinity Map
Then, we made an affinity map grouping related thoughts, concerns, and ideas from each participant. Some of the findings were that people most affected have the strongest emotions, people who have accessibility needs a lot of times are unaccounted for, it puts strain on New Yorkers mentally and physically, yet people tend to adapt to their environment.
Research Analysis
Big Ideas
How do we communicate to the people impacted the most by construction sites?
People most affected have the strongest emotions.
“I want to know exactly when and why the train is delayed/canceled/changed ahead of time rather than when I get to the station or after I already pay.”
Consider the variety of people impacted.
“I noticed one side of the sidewalk blocked by construction and wasn’t sure if I should cross the street to continue walking.”
How do we make the construction site accessible to people both physically and emotionally?
Physically
“It’s a hassle being stuck in traffic during rush hour.”
“Because the pseudo-sidewalk was narrow, if I stopped and read what was on the work in progress sign, I’d be blocking people. “
Mentally
“The construction site makes the whole area of the world trade center mentally less accessible.”- Construction sites affect people’s emotions.
How do we utilize the space around a construction site?
People adapted to the environment
People were leaning against the construction barriers to rest, and holding onto the fences for support.
Recommendations
Information could be curated through various touch points (tangible and digital).
Increase awareness of any inconvenience, train delays, cancellations, and reroutes early on in the day to avoid frustrations.
Consider accessibility for people who have different ranges of mobility.
What Was Learned
• It is important to get a good understanding of what the clients’ needs and expectations are regarding a project they give you. Sometimes that does not happen and we have to find out what the problems are through research. I learned that that happens but no research is wasted since it can be picked up and used by another team.
• I learned more about how New Yorkers operate within their commute and daily lives. I learned about what they think about and how they feel about the subject of construction.
Reflection
Workshops
Workshops are a great way to help inform New Yorkers on the information around construction sites. Host a workshop to engage with New Yorkers.
Design Opportunities
Pass this on to another team of designers to brainstorm a digital solution for the recommendations suggested.