Capping The Cross Bronx Expressway
Personal Roles #Project Management #Design Strategy #Facilitation
Partner @Loving the Bronx @Montefiore Hospitals, Montefiore’s Primary Care and Social Internal Medicine (PCSIM) program
Partner @Loving the Bronx @Montefiore Hospitals, Montefiore’s Primary Care and Social Internal Medicine (PCSIM) program
Empower Bronx local leaders to champion justice through design.
HMW
How might we use residents' knowledge to raise awareness of the health risks and gather engagement toward capping among people living along the CBx Expressway？
The Story
Background
This two-year collaboration project focused on improving the Bronx's environmental and community health. The initiative aims to address the health impacts of the Cross Bronx Expressway. Our main goal for this stage is to help Loving the Bronx call on more Bronx locals to participate in public meetings to promote the Capping the CBE project.
Result
Through co-design, it raises awareness of respiratory health challenges and advocates for reimagining the expressway’s future to benefit local communities. We developed communication strategies and interactive workshops to engage Bronx residents and promote community-driven solutions. These efforts empower local leaders and residents to advocate for environmental justice and contribute to creating a healthier, more equitable Bronx.
An invitation to public meeting
Local community can use the invitation as a prompt to invite others
A poster for local venders
The poster can turn to a educational pamphlet
Selected Process
Engage the doctors in field research with prompts
Throughout the process, we ensured the active participation of doctors to decentralize the role of designers and allow the design team to focus on facilitating "design by."
During the field research phase, the team, Nilka Martell, the leader of LBX, and doctors visited the area near the CBE in the Bronx together to understand the residents' daily experiences in the community. To help the doctors better articulate their insights, we created a set of simple prompts that could be easily completed.
These included examples like:
- 5 things you see
- 4 things you hear
- 3 things you smell
- 2 things you want to advise as a physician
During the field research phase, the team, Nilka Martell, the leader of LBX, and doctors visited the area near the CBE in the Bronx together to understand the residents' daily experiences in the community. To help the doctors better articulate their insights, we created a set of simple prompts that could be easily completed.
These included examples like:
- 5 things you see
- 4 things you hear
- 3 things you smell
- 2 things you want to advise as a physician
Through sharing sessions, we worked with the doctors to identify the key issues that deserve the most attention from residents. These included the impact of noise on mental health, the effects of emissions on respiratory health, and concerns about chronic diseases.
Nilka Martell, the leader of LBX, introducing the history of CBE area
Field trip with Docters
Workshop to create content
We facilitated workshops to leverage the doctors' expertise and help them expand LBX's impact. In the workshops, we used a step-by-step approach to encourage their creativity, starting with letter writing, progressing to newspaper creation, and finally crafting a poster with a powerful and impactful tagline.
Doctors Writing individually
Team work with Newspaper
Review all the work together
The strategy of making deliverables
By analyzing Nilka's daily workflow and the environment around the CBE, we found that she tends to encourage people to participate in public meetings through one-on-one conversations.
Along the streets near the CBE, there are many fixed vendors, shops, and delis that residents frequently visit. We aim to enhance her influence by helping her build connections with these owners.
According to the ABCD theory, which views owners as potential future leaders, their involvement can help amplify the impact and extend it to the surrounding residents.
Along the streets near the CBE, there are many fixed vendors, shops, and delis that residents frequently visit. We aim to enhance her influence by helping her build connections with these owners.
According to the ABCD theory, which views owners as potential future leaders, their involvement can help amplify the impact and extend it to the surrounding residents.
Workflow of Nilka Martell, the leader of LBX
Former strategy vs. New strategy
To gain the support of the shop owners, we visited all the businesses on one side of the CBE pilot area with the initial design drafts, gathered their feedback, and iterated on the designs accordingly.
