Learning Sustainability

How can we increase civic engagement?
How do we nurture a sense of community and belonging?
How do we increase information flow throughout communities?
How can we empower users with today's technology?
How can we enhance the cityscape through new social interactions via digital architecture?
How can we explore new sustainable living practices of the mobile generation?

To this end we developed a long-term vision of a mobile-accessible public platform based on participatory input, communication & exchange, and public visualization to encourage citizens to raise awareness of issues they think are important to them. Examples of such issues might include environmental pollution, cultural exchange from different sectors of society, and a ride-sharing service for youth under the influence of alcohol to return home safely.

We began the brainstorming process with a design workshop that had two major phases over the period of two academic semesters: a diverge & brainstorm phase followed by a converge & design phase. We gathered students across multiple disciplines, and different backgrounds to form in multidisciplinary teams. During preliminary studies, we conducted initial research, invited guest speakers, received cultural training, and studied relevant projects by other people throughout the world. Next, a trip was taken to Brescia to conduct ethnographic studies, and to share ideas with officials from the Province of Brescia. After returning from the trip, students used what they learned to focus their design proposals. After the workshop, we worked with the Province of Brescia to choose a scenario to implement and prototype.

Currently, we are working on developing a first small-scale iteration of the system, called Ride.Link, to be tested internally in September 2008. Our multidisciplinary design team is implementing an innovative ride-sharing and social networking system designed to promote sustainable communities and responsible alcohol consumption. Our system aims to encourage youth to use safe rides after a night out partying and drinking with friends. Using a smart bracelet, each drinker can signal to the system that he or she is unable to drive home safely. The system will coordinate a ride with a trusted driver from within the drinker’s social network. Users can accumulate points that can be redeemed for rewards.

Project Goals

1. Reduce occurrences of alcohol-related traffic accidents by helping youth find safe rides home (our project does not intend to either encourage or discourage the separate problem of alcohol consumption).
2. Provide support for families and friends affected by alcohol-related accidents
3. Increase public awareness about social issues of Brescia

Key Concepts
* Ride-sharing:
Maintain social and environmental sustainability by ensuring safe driving and reducing vehicle emissions.
* Social Networking:
Keep people connected with people whom they trust and can inter-depend upon each other.
* Public Visualization:
To increase public awareness of social issues in Brescia.
* Communication and Exchange:
Allow youth to share information on good venues and safe drinking, and also media (future direction).

Federico Casalegno, Principle Investigator

Federico Casalegno, Ph.D., is the Director of the MIT Mobile Experience Lab and Associate Director of the MIT Design Laboratory. A social scientist with an interest in the impact of networked digital technologies in human behavior and society, Casalegno both teaches and leads research at MIT. (Longer bio here: http://mobile.mit.edu/component/option,com_deeppockets/task,catShow/id,1...)

Orkan Telhan, Project Lead / Electronics Design

http://www.orkantelhan.info/
Turkish Citizen. Orkan received his SM from MIT Media Lab with a focus on sociable media and computer mediated communication in public spaces. He studied media arts and interactive computer graphics at the State University of New York at Buffalo and he holds MFA and BFA degrees in media theory and visual design from Bilkent University, Ankara. His work has been in exhibited in a number of venues including ISEA, Ars Electronica and Archilab.

Steve Pomeroy, Software Design

http://staticfree.info/
Steve is a mobile telecommunications hacker, exploring the new ways that we will be communicating with one another. He studied computer language construction and computer security at the Rochester Institute of Technology, earning him a BS in Computer Science.

Guz Gutmann, Product Design

http://www.guzgutmann.com/
German citizen. Guz is a 3d hardware interface designer with a background in product design and physical computing. He received a Diploma in Product Design after he studied at Hochschule fuer Gestaltung Schwaebisch Gmuend and Escola Superior de Desenho Industrial Rio de Janeiro. His main focus is on the connection of information and use of hardware in complex processes.

Colleen Kaman, Social Design / Ethnography

American citizen. Colleen is a graduate student in Comparative Media Studies, as well as a Researcher with the Center for Future Civic Media at MIT. She is also an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker. Her current research focuses on social movements, notions of democracy, public space, and vernacular culture. She is particularly interested the construction of narrative and identity across media.

Daniel Cardoso, Urban Installation

http://mit.edu/dcardoso/www
Born in Colombia, Daniel is currently a Presidential Fellow at MIT where he works towards his Ph.D. dissertation in the Design and Computation Group of the School of Architecture. He investigates design automation as both a technical and cultural problem. Daniel has practiced as a computational geometry consultant at KPF-New York and as an independent architect in Colombia. Prior to MIT Daniel was also a professor of architecture in Universidad de los Andes, Bogota. He likes spaghetti western.

Agnes Chang, Project Management

http://www.agneschang.net/
American citizen. Agnes received her BA with a double major in Media Arts & Sciences and Japanese from Wellesley College. She is interested in exploring the relationship between people, space, and experience, and is especially interested in designing technology to facilitate personal interactions in public space.

Davide Arcari

http://freeweb.lombardiacom.it/archid (in italian)
Davide received his First level degree in Informatics Engineering with a thesis titled "The creation of Java architecture to share clinicians data based on Web Service technology". He's currently enrolled in the 2nd year of specialization degree in Informatics Engineering at the University of Brescia. Davide has good knowledge of the programming languages, web based applications projecting, most known relational open source or commercial DBMS and servers configuration basics.

Chris Christoforos

http://www.webscream.net
Greek Citizen. Chris began studying medicine in 2002, after moving from his hometown Athens, Greece to Brescia, Italy. During the first years of university he discovered his interest in web and graphics design, which gave him the opportunity to take his greatest passion of freehand design one step further. He occasionally volunteers for humanitarian associations such as the Italian Doctors without Borders and professionally for Roadrunner Records Italy as an animation/graphics designer; his designs have been published in italian music magazines such as Metal Hammer, RockSound and RockHard.

Fabio Ingrasciotta

http://www.linkedin.com/in/fingra
Italian citizen. Fabio is second level graduate in economics with specialization in logistics and statistics. He is an active member of AIESEC. On 2007 he attended a quarter of studies (MBA course) at the Indian Institute of Planning an Management at the campus of Mumbai e New Delhi.

Mario Nicoliello

Italian Citizen. He is a first year Ph.d. student in Business Administration at the University of Brescia. He works as a contributing editor at the newspaper Giornale di Brescia. Prior, Mario received his Master Degree in Business Administration from University of Brescia, where he studied Italian football clubs in his thesis.

Andrea Puma

Italian citizen. Andrea is a masters student studying Medical Biotechnology at the University of Medicine of Brescia. His focus is on neuro-pharmacology and in neuro-degenerative diseases. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology from University of Brescia in 2007, with a thesis entitled “Analysis of the cytokine TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand) and its impact on neurotoxicity induced by B-Amyloid”. He is specialized in techniques for chemical, biochemical and physical research, he is also attending a course for becoming a scientific popularizer. He is also a violinist and an orchestra director. He is an events planner and councillor in several administrative committees.

Cristian Trevisani

Italian citizen. Cristian received a Bachelor degree in Electronic Engineer from University of Brescia with a focus on microcontroller devices and electronic materials. Currently he's attending the last year of the Master of Sciences in Information Technology Engineering. He is mainly interested in human-machine interaction and database technology.

Dario Zappa

Italian Citizen. After a BS in Electronics for Industrial Automation and an experience in Biomedical Electronics, he is now pursuing his Masters in Microelectronics and Solid State Devices. His interests are eclectic and loves to learn new things, especially if not related to his studies. His goal as an engineer is to put as many things as possible in a restrict amount of space. Sooner or later he will go to Japan.