Proposal for the conception of the 2025 Smart City scenario for the Digital Creative City of Guadalajara

Project Objective: Designing a wearable device, aimed at eighteen to twenty-three-year-old citizens of Guadalajara’s future as a Smart City, to foster trust and safety among the members of the community

The Problem

In Guadalajara, domestic violence, sexual harassment and abuse are a major concern for young girls and boys. Within the group of 18–23-year-olds, domestic abuse was identified as a serious issue in Mexico. It is a long and complex procedure to report cases and does not guarantee justice. Several attempts by the government and regulatory authorities such as phone calls, arrests, comprehensive education, commercial advertisements and whistleblowing policies have all proven futile. Furthermore, Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) corroborates that:

‘Reporting crimes can be a long, frustrating experience. Victims must make a complaint (denuncia) to police or the local branch of the State Prosecutor’s Office (Ministerio Publico). When making a denunciate, the burden of proof is on the individual to substantiate that a crime occurred. Even after filing a denunciate properly, the complainant must ratify it several days later.’

The government of Jalisco is therefore looking to leverage technology to find a reliable and sustainable solution to the problem, in order to foster trust and safety among the members of the community.

Aim

The project aims to design a wearable device, aimed at eighteen to twenty-three-year-old citizens of Guadalajara’s future as a Smart City, to foster trust and safety among the members of the community.

Why Guadalajara?

The government of Jalisco has chosen to implement the project in Guadalajara because the city of Guadalajara has a Digital Creative City Vision. The SmartEdTech team was therefore awarded the contract.

The design principles and guidelines

To design and develop the tool to curb violence and sexual harassment in Guadalajara, two major resources were taken into consideration:

• the Deep Shift Technology Tipping Points and Societal Impact report, which outlines 21 tipping points that are likely to occur by 2025, and discusses the positive and negative impacts they may have on our society;
• the concept of design thinking was also implemented to develop an adequate and sustainable solution. In this regard, some tools were selected from IDEO’s design kit were used to ensure human-centred design.

Tipping points linked to the proposal and why

To adequately address the design needs of Guadalajara, three tipping points were identified: tipping points four, eight and ten. The table below outlines these tipping points in detail.

How the tool designed aligns to the tipping point

Tipping point 4: Wearable internet. The device can be worn that connects the article and the person wearing it to the internet.

Tipping point 8: The internet of things. The device can be and will be connected to the internet.

Tipping point 10. Smart cities. The service provided by the device will be connected to the internet and linked to a range of data sets to enable predictive modelling.

In the design thinking concept the stages of empathising, defining, ideating, prototyping and testing, correspond to the IDEO design kit resources of inspiration, ideation and implementation. To fulfil the project requirements, some tools from the toolbox were selected and employed.

The tools I selected from IDEO’s design kit for the INSPIRATION stage, and why

For the inspiration stage, I selected three tools from IDOE’s design kit. The table below outlines the tools and the reasons why.

Frame your design challenge: This will enable me to sufficiently articulate the problem I am trying to solve, as well as the scope of the intervention. There are also resources that are easily downloadable.

Interviews: By talking to the beneficiaries directly, I will understand their hopes, desires, and aspirations, which will be critical for designing the appropriate device.

Ecosystem Mapping Worksheet: Ecosystem Mapping worksheet will enable me to understand the context within which the final design will be implemented.

The tools selected from IDEO’s design kit for the IDEATION stage, and why

For the ideation stage, I selected three tools from IDOE’s design kit. The table below outlines the tools and the reasons why.

Build & Run Prototypes: This will enable me to develop a prototype keep learning and iterating the prototype as required until I find the appropriate product.

Explore Your Theory of Change: Developing a Theory of Change will enable me to reflect on how each piece of the proposed solution works together to attain the desired outcome.

User Journey Map: Outlining a user journey map allows me to identify and strategize for key moments in the product, experience, or service I am designing.

The tools selected from IDEO’s design kit for the IMPLEMENTATION stage, and why

For the ideation stage, I selected one tool from IDOE’s design kit. The table below outlines the tool and the reason why.

Keep Iterating: Testing, getting feedback, and iterating will enable me to get a great solution to market and let me know where to roll out the device and when to do it.

Description of the wearable device, including its functions and benefits according to Jalisco’s government demands

The device has the following specs:

The wearable device. The device is in the form of Smart Contact Lenses, which can be worn easily by inserting them into the eye. For security purposes, it is relatively undetectable.

The functions of the device. The functional contact lenses use UVA — UVB — Blue Light protection, just like actual contact lenses. The device transmits information on rape and domestic violence through the use of Safewords.

Transmission of information: Safewords uttered by users of this technology gets transmitted to the relevant authorities such as police, Firemen, and 911 who can immediately address the situation.

Challenges and Concerns

A major concern for the design team was the issue of privacy and surveillance, which the tipping points failed to address appropriately. It is therefore critical to ensure that the data collected will only be used in direct connection to the specific problem the device was trying to solve and that the user’s data will not be misappropriated in any way, or used by the authorities for anything other than the designated system.

Key Lessons Learnt from the Process

Through this case study, I developed an understanding of some key issues on design thinking and human-centred design. In particular, the IDEO design toolkit is very practical and actionable, and I could identify with most of the tools outlined. I, therefore, look forward to employing these toolkits and lessons in my professional life. It was great to be able to do some more involved research into the crime statistics and to learn about the forward-looking projects that also exist in the country.