"In a post-pandemic world, we are struggling with connecting as humans in a world that often feels so disconnected. Loneliness has spread rampant during the pandemic and many people are feeling its effects.
You will be working on creating an inclusive design solution in Toronto, ON. What makes for healthy communicates of connected human beings? How can design help crease enduing connections between people aren their immediate surroundings, especially after a very dividing time period when a pandemic ran wild for 3 years?
Use design to create inclusive design solutions for a section of Toronto that struggles with limited social and economic resources.
Inclusive design, as a theoretical as well as a practice-based approach, is concerned with creating sustainable social spaces, where the focus is on the interaction between design objects and human users. You should grapple with how to expand the human-centred focus of inclusive design to solve complex problems and use design to connect people on a deeper level."
As one of the most diverse cities in the world, Toronto is home to a wide range of identities, backgrounds, and personalities.
Not all public spaces are made equal, in that some are friendly—or not friendly—to certain groups of people. For example, a restaurant may not have a wheelchair accessible entrance or gender neutral washrooms.
Individuals across all communities look for spaces that are accessible to their identities, but there isn’t a dedicated way to find them.
Current tools fail us.
Welcome to Haven — the safe space you’ve been looking for.
Haven is an app designed through an assessment of the complex social ecologies of our city, intended to connect marginalized demographics within Toronto through community-’vetted’ safe spaces.
Using crowdsourced data, Haven actively suggests businesses and leisure establishments based on each user’s unique identity.
Haven hopes to highlight the unique intersectionalities in each of our identities, and demonstrate that our common interests are stronger than our differences.
Our solution has two main goals: allowing users to find spaces safe for them, and connecting with others in their community.
Haven lets users explore recreational spaces, restaurants, and event venues to ensure they meet the specific needs of their community.
To incentivize businesses and ensure info is up to date, our algorithm is driven by user-submitted evaluations.
This is not a traditional review system like Yelp or Google. Instead, Haven lets users evaluate places on behalf of the communities they identify with, giving everyone a voice to recommend for—or against—the places they visit.
Users are able to evaluate spaces and leave comments that help other people of their community decide whether or not this is a safe space for them
For example, if someone has experience that made them feel unwelcome for their identity. They can choose to share this experience with others in their community.
As a platform for marginalized and vulnerable communities, our goal is to create an open environment.
Importantly, at no point is the user asked for their name.
Instead, users are asked for identity-specific information, like the communities that best describe them.
Each person’s experience and recommendations are unique to their identity.
Users can suggest a new community if they are unable to find one that aptly describes them.
While we maintain anonymity, users can create an avatar to display who they are
In the community tab, users can browse activities and safe spaces from people inside and outside of their communities, ask questions, give suggestions, and share the spaces safe to them.
In this conversation, someone’s looking for gender-neutral washroomsWhenever a post includes a location, Haven automatically displays the evaluation most relevant to you, so you can make informed decisions.
Here we see someone who found a new vegan cafe that’s sensory-friendly. Because they’ve identified with those communities, the post will be shared with others like them.
Again, users are reminded that their posts are public, but anonymous, to encourage them to share openly.
Users can suggest a new community if they are unable to find one that aptly describes them.
While we maintain anonymity, users can create an avatar to display who they are
