What attracted you to this year’s Urban SOS theme of applying sharing economy principles to address urban infrastructure challenges?

Usually, the concept of the sharing economy evolves around the use of technology as the main catalyst for innovative change. However, the Urban SOS competition encouraged us to explore the spatial components of sharing and distribution systems to reach more equitable outcomes — two themes that tie into our prior experience and coursework in urban design and public health.

It’s really helpful and interesting to keep returning to our initial proposal over the course of the semester, adjusting it with feedback and real-life data. This is a process we go through in studio and classes, but this time, having an outside instigator helped keep us grounded in the real world. The challenge was also appealing because it’s bringing us together as an interdisciplinary team in a way that would not have happened through the academic demands of our regular coursework.

Using technology to connect need with supply, the team proposes evolving USPS’s package tracking system so food suppliers can notify drivers of available items for collection.

Your team proposes using the USPS distribution network and building stock to improve Los Angeles’s food infrastructure, particularly in neighborhoods with poor food access. What inspired this concept?

A prompt in the Urban SOS competition brief encouraged us to think about how to leverage government agency resources to better meet people’s needs. In their five-year strategic plan, the USPS describes itself as “the first social network” used to connect citizens across the nation, and we wanted to expand upon this definition through this competition proposal.

We wanted to connect underutilized capacity within the USPS (building space, trucks, and human capital resources) with the desire for increased reach and food storage capacity within food banks and agencies working to mitigate food insecurity. We are siting our exploration in Los Angeles, where a dynamic food culture is juxtaposes with the largest number of food-insecure individuals of any county in the U.S.[1]

“First Class Meal” has the potential to reinvigorate the USPS and more strongly define its role as a community resource while strengthening the existing network of community food providers. It is a proposal that requires cross-agency and interdisciplinary cooperation — not an easy process, but one which we believe is essential to address the problems of cities today.

“First Class Meal” envisions food banks, restaurants and households using USPS to increase food access in areas of need. USPS offices could be adapted to make them suitable for the expansion of services.

Your team includes students in urban design, landscape architecture, architecture and public health. Can you talk about how this mix informed your work and about the opportunities and challenges with multidisciplinary work?

Today’s urban challenges are complex and require input from multiple disciplines to create tangible and effective solutions. Lanxi and Anu are able to apply the analytical, research and representational techniques they have learned in urban design and pair it with Irum’s public health knowledge and focus on evidence-based research to approach this competition.

Because we all come to the table with different backgrounds and skillsets, we challenge each other’s assumptions and test each other’s knowledge. This multidisciplinary effort can add a degree of complexity to communication and production, but we feel our work is more interesting and provocative because of it. It reflects, at a small scale, the larger benefits of multidisciplinary efforts to address urban issues.

Urban SOS is a global innovation competition that challenges students to collaborate across disciplines to reimagine the future of our cities and pioneer unique solutions to urban challenges. The 2016 competition was themed Urban SOS: Fair Share and challenged students to combine the tools and technologies of the sharing economy with physical design to support more equitable access to resources, improve the built environment and enrich the quality of life of urban residents. Urban SOS: Fair Share was presented by ArchTam and Van Alen Institute in partnership with 100 Resilient Cites. For more information on the competition visit www.archtam.com/urbansos.

[1] Map the Meal Gap Report, Feeding America, 2015

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What attracted you to the Urban SOS competition and this year’s theme of applying sharing economy principles to address urban infrastructure challenges?

We have always been intrigued by the human potential to adapt and solve problems creatively. After the recession, the sharing economy emerged in full force in response to challenging times. It has been so successful in certain sectors, but its potential has only barely been tapped. Creativity can tackle all sorts of problems, and this element of the competition has brought us to work together.

Anduriña studies migration and found studying through a lens of theories while migrants and refugees around the world are suffering to be challenging in its indirectness. Urban SOS provided us with a way to engage with the issues in a way that actively addresses the real challenges that high-migrant-receiving municipalities face on a day-to-day basis.

As a design student, the multidisciplinary approach appealed to Ho-Ting, offering an opportunity to engage with students from other disciplines. The idea of combining digital application with physical intervention really propelled us to look at urban issues through a whole new lens.

Aiming to revitalize abandoned buildings in Athens and help migrants contribute and adapt to their new communities, The Living City proposes creating hubs focused on culture and food production.

How did you develop your idea to address both the migration crisis and the economic crisis in Europe?

Athens holds particular appeal to us based on what Anduriña witnessed there when she visited the city with her Migration Studies cohort at the University of Oxford. She saw people who demonstrated resilience, humanity and justice, even in the face of a migration crisis within an economic one — a “crisis within a crisis,” as the Greek case was described. From our research, we know that there are over 300,000 abandoned houses and flats in the city — a legacy of the global recession. We also strongly believe that refugees are not passive victims, but human beings with skills, education, knowledge and ideas that they can contribute to the host society. Once we considered these two factors, we were able to put them together and come up with a solution.

Our project capitalizes on the unused potential of abandoned spaces in Athens to allow refugees living in the city to start their own small businesses. Taking inspiration from Airbnb, our digital tool helps match owners of abandoned buildings with refugees, enabling refugees to help local residents upgrade and restore their properties in exchange for space to set up their pop-up food stalls. The venture also capitalizes on the tourist stream that continues to flow into Greece. We designed our project to be as mobile, flexible and adaptable as the migrants themselves.

Technology would sit at the heart of the hubs, enabling migrants and building owners to find and list spaces and skills.

Your team brings together a wide range of expertise — how did you find each other, and what was your experience working on a multidisciplinary team?

It was a wonderful journey working together given the fact that we have never met physically but only virtually via Skype. During the summer, despite the fact that we were all in different time zones (in Asia, Africa and the U.S.), we really bonded over this project.

Finding each other was an interesting journey. Ho-Ting and Faranak first discussed the competition while talking about the migration crisis over dinner. As design students, limited knowledge on the migration issue propelled them to seek out other members with a background in international development. Anduriña and Jenny met Ho-Ting and Faranak via an open call for a team member. Neither Anduriña or Jenny knew each other, nor knew Ho-Ting and Faranak. Skype conversations followed, and the rest is history!

Anduriña was working on her dissertation, a topic that combines migration studies and urban studies, and was really compelled by the opportunity to combine these interests in a real-life competition. Our migration consultant, she helped us understand migration dynamics broadly, as well as the particular situation in Greece. Jenny was interning at a small tech startup in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of her Master of Public Administration in Development Practice degree at Columbia University. A transportation policy specialist, she helped the team dissect proposed ideas through a critical lens and offered constructive feedback. Ho-Ting and Faranak were both interning at a landscape architecture firm and always wondering while spending hours on Autocad if designers had a responsibility to respond to the migration crisis. They brought their expertise in design solutions and graphics.

Urban SOS is a global innovation competition that challenges students to collaborate across disciplines to re-imagine the future of our cities and pioneer unique solutions to urban challenges. The 2016 competition was themed “Urban SOS: Fair Share” and challenged students to combine the tools and technologies of the sharing economy with physical design to support more equitable access to resources, improve the built environment and enrich the quality of life of urban residents. Urban SOS: Fair Share was presented by ArchTam and Van Alen Institute in partnership with 100 Resilient Cites. For more information on the competition visit www.archtam.com/urbansos.

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What attracted you to the Urban SOS competition and this year’s focus on applying sharing economy principles to address urban infrastructure challenges?

We have been following Van Alen Institute for some time, and we share the belief that design can transform cities and people’s lives. We heard about the Urban SOS competition while working on our ‘EN COMUN(A)’ project at Parsons School for Design (The New School). We were exploring the potential of sharing economies to establish more equitable access to resources in order to improve the built environment. The competition was a unique opportunity to further our work because it offers international exposure for the project, and, if we win, potential financial support toward making our work a tangible reality for the communes.

Already working with 18 communes in Ecuador, the team aims to map their needs and resources and ultimately make it easier for residents to work collaboratively and connect.

Could you describe some of the challenges people face in Quito’s communes and how your project seeks to address them using physical and digital interventions?

The people of the communes face a number of challenges. Even though the Constitution of Ecuador provides self-determination collective rights to the communes, government officials don’t recognize these rights in practice. The communes aren’t officially mapped, so they’re vulnerable to land appropriation and in effect don’t really have any legal or political power. As a result, the communes also lack basic infrastructure such as paving, water and sewage, and street lighting.

Our project offers the communes planning, economic and governance tools that make it easier for residents from different communes to connect with each other, share resources and compile information about their communal land.

The project would help residents of communes throughout Quito with a range of community development projects, from creating cooperative banks to connecting employers with workers.

What has been their reaction of commune residents to the competition and your project?

We have had the chance to meet with residents of several communes as well as with specific leaders of the communes in order to present our ideas and get much needed feedback from them (both on our tools and on next steps).

The local residents and their leaders have been very receptive to our project and are giving a lot of their time to help shape it. We feel fortunate to find and develop a project with partners who share the same ideals we do and who are tremendously committed to the project. Their positive and supportive reaction has been decisive in continuing our work.

Urban SOS is a global innovation competition that challenges students to collaborate across disciplines to re-imagine the future of our cities and pioneer unique solutions to urban challenges. The 2016 competition was themed “Urban SOS: Fair Share” and challenged students to combine the tools and technologies of the sharing economy with physical design to support more equitable access to resources, improve the built environment and enrich the quality of life of urban residents. Urban SOS: Fair Share was presented by ArchTam and Van Alen Institute in partnership with 100 Resilient Cites. For more information on the competition visit www.archtam.com/urbansos.

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What attracted you to the Urban SOS competition and this year’s focus on applying sharing economy principles to address urban infrastructure challenges?

We were inspired by the way ArchTam makes an impact on the world — our group wants to pursue projects that will make a difference in society. However, we don’t usually get the opportunity to engage in topical world issues as part of our coursework, and as undergraduates we don’t have the capacity to bring such projects to life in the real world. So the offer of resources and in-kind support to kick-start the winning project was what initially attracted our team to the Urban SOS competition.

As we brainstormed ideas we became increasingly invested in this year’s sharing economy theme. By incorporating sharing economy principles, we saw a potential to socially and economically empower citizens. We’ve proposed a platform integrating digital technology and urban infrastructure that facilitates entrepreneurship, community engagement and partnerships between citizens, businesses and local government.

Technology would enable households and collectors to find each other using an app or text service.

You and your team proposed a new waste management network that would benefit both households and waste collectors in Durban. What made you decide to take on the challenge of managing urban waste in South Africa?

Our motivation for tackling the issue of waste stems largely from Sumari’s experiences in South Africa. While touring Durban, she saw firsthand how pollution detracted considerably from the city’s quality of life. Though communities are receptive to responsible waste management, the current municipal system lacks the infrastructure to manage specialised waste.

Meanwhile the recycling sector has major potential for growth — growth that is hindered by difficulty accessing waste material. Only three percent of Durban’s waste is recycled, a number well below national and international standards. This was the original inspiration behind WELP. By connecting contractors and households directly via our app and SMS service, recyclers gain convenient access to specialised waste.

Our overarching goal, however, is an improved waste management network that fosters sustainability, community growth and job creation. With the world’s highest rate of HIV/AIDS and severe income inequality, Durban faces serious social challenges. This motivated us to create a multifaceted business model, complementing waste collection with opportunities for social training, such as upcycling and composting workshops.

Collectors could deposit waste at five new hubs throughout the city that would also offer essential services such as housing and bathrooms.

Your team brings together undergraduates studying very diverse disciplines including civil engineering and medicine. How did you hit upon that mix of disciplines, and what has it meant for your proposal?

Vivian teamed up with fellow engineering students Lixin and Sumari. Sumari in turn recruited Kate, whom she had met through Monash University’s Global Discovery Program.

While the problem-solving skills developed in our engineering degrees were crucial in taking this proposal from a concept to a feasible solution, as double-degree students, our specialties also lay in architecture, liberal arts, commerce, medicine and politics. Drawing on her architectural training, Sumari brought the hub design into being, and led the design of the final presentation. Vivian handled the business strategy and financial aspects. Lixin dealt with the written work and app designs. Kate explored how our project could provide benefits to local communities.

From the very beginning, we wanted a team with an expansive skillset. Through the course of this project we’ve come to truly appreciate how a multidisciplinary team can produce innovative solutions.

Urban SOS is a global innovation competition that challenges students to collaborate across disciplines to reimagine the future of our cities and pioneer unique solutions to urban challenges. The 2016 competition was themed Urban SOS: Fair Share and challenged students to combine the tools and technologies of the sharing economy with physical design to support more equitable access to resources, improve the built environment and enrich the quality of life of urban residents. Urban SOS: Fair Share was presented by ArchTam and Van Alen Institute in partnership with 100 Resilient Cites. For more information on the competition visit www.archtam.com/urbansos.

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