We’ve got some exciting news! Future Vision made it into the finals in the year’s MIT Climate CoLab Competition. It’s now eligible for both the Judges’ Choice Award and the Popular Choice Award. Visit the link and check out the project – we’d love to get your vote!
An interactive furniture series, Future Vision increases community resilience by spreading information, awareness & civic collaboration on climate issues in public transit hubs worldwide. In all models, interactive touch screens are embedded within modular furniture, presenting & collecting information in ways that encourage physical interaction. Each type is designed to cultivate various degrees of social interaction according to available space & traffic patterns.
“Gather” pieces are designed for areas with more room. Pull out desks & seating encourage more people to assemble & learn together. “Lean” pieces are for slightly smaller, more trafficked spaces. “Screen” pieces are crafted for crowded spaces. All models provide charge outlets & wifi, inviting users to linger & absorb more information.
By building off existing transit systems, Future Vision accomplishes three important resilience goals. One, it spreads vital information about climate change.
The community that is informed & able to self-organize is better prepared to bounce back from hazardous change. From evacuation routes to maps of flood zones, Future Vision places facts in some of the most public urban places – transit hubs.
Two, Future Vision encourages community wide action in dealing with climate hazards. Its digital interface invites users to plan for coming changes, from connecting with other planning-minded people in their area to uploading ideas of actions they’d like to take.
Three, Future Vision connects people with their regional resources. Because environmental threats can compromise local support networks, understanding how to connect to greater regional systems increases security in times of stress. Future Vision enhances connections between local residents & wider regions by spreading information through existing regional transit hubs.
By enhancing existing transit networks, Future Vision provides public forums for learning about & collaborating on adaptive, climate-sensitive adaptation options.
Check out the project here and click on the box in the upper right corner to show your support. Every vote gets us closer to winning the popular choice vote and creating a viable prototype to promote greater resilience to climate change impacts across the globe.
NOTE: This blog was first published at Urban Fabrick's blog on June 7, 2017.