Working Physical Prototype
Equidad ATX and Live Well / Vive Bien Store built in a bus donated by Austin Capital Metro and operated by the Capital Food Bank.
Mobile Grocery Store
2021
This was the capstone prokect I did for Equidad ATX, a non-profit based out of Austin, Texas.
The Eastern Crescent is a racially segregated area east of I-35 in the city of Austin in Texas created by the Master Plan of 1928. It exists in an "Urban Desert" where there are far fewer hospitals, health clinics, and grocery stores within the nearby radius.
Equidad ATX, a non-profit, created LiveWell/ViveBein as a holistic mobile ecosystem of 15 partners to address the social determinants of health in this area.
I was a researcher/strategist on this team project. Our design challenge: "How might we best utilize our available assets to design a sustainable and holistic experience within our target communities that aims to address food insecurity in a dignified and COVID-safe manner".
The Process : Co-Creation
Research
12 interviews with the community, partners, and experts.
2 virtual 2-D participatory activities using card sorting techniques.
4 Community Engagement & Design events.
10 Field Visits including in-person participatory activities with card sorting.
4 Ps
We developed the 4P framework for research, synthesis, ideation, and prototype.
People
Who are we designing with?
Places
Where we want to visit?
Partners
Existing and future partners
Plans
Existing plans & politics
Insights
In a community seeing many orgs come and go, consistency in both visibility and physical presence is key.
Residents lack organizational power to make changes in their areas.
Don't think of Colony Park as one unit - it's an incredibly diverse area in need as well.
The significance of food varies amongst the diverse communities of Colony Park.