Systems Approach to Design: Public parking spaces in a metropolitan city

This research and analysis is a part of the Systems Approach to Design module at the National Institute of Design, Bengaluru for the Masters in Interaction Design led by the faculty; Dr. Mamata Rao and Mrs. Jagriti Galphade.

The first objective was to learn what a System is. Further, we as a class went on to read about the Ice-berg model to develop a deeper understanding and analysis of a System. You can click here to refer to Basics of Systems, the Ice-berg model along with the initial activities performed in class. Further reference to Systems Thinking can be viewed here.

Introduction

Being a resident of Bangalore, I have always found it difficult to find parking spaces at various locations within the city. Thus, my area of interest for the design project is street parking. Bangalore being a metropolitan city and the Silicon Valley of India with a population of about 1.3 crores, houses over 80 lakh vehicles (source). Tech parks, malls and commercial spaces developed over recent times do provide parking. But commercial spaces in the Central Business District (CBD) of Bangalore along with other areas like Indiranagar, Koramangala, HSR layout, etc. which grew rapidly are not designed to provide adequate parking. People rely on parking spaces on the street. With such a huge number of vehicles and no parking space, finding a parking spot has become a hassle.

Photograph by ‘Ivana Cajina’ from ‘Unsplash’

In order to find parking space people generally go around in circles or are subjected to long waiting periods. From personal experience; my vehicle was towed even though it was parked about 10ft away from the ‘Parking’ signboard. When questioned, the traffic department reasoned that a barricade was present close to the parking sign beyond which a vehicle cannot be parked. These norms are not universal. Thus, people unaware of such local norms end up paying a price for it.

Research

To understand the problem from various perspectives, user interviews were conducted. The user group consisted of an age group from 25 to 59. This included people from multiple professions with a varying needs for public parking space. Below are the factors based on which the interviews were carried out.

1. User demographics
2. Need for street parking
3. Ease of finding parking spaces
4. Problems faced while parking the vehicle
5. Ability to differentiate between “Parking” and “No parking” zones
6. Vehicle towing
7. Time consumption in the process of parking
8. Use of valet parking

ANALYSIS

User interviews were then analysed to identify most commonly faced problems encountered during parking.

1. Parking spaces are very difficult to find for both two wheelers and four wheelers.
2. Vehicles are damaged with dents and scratches when parked in public spaces.
3. ‘Parking’ and ‘No parking’ zones are provided with appropriate signages. But most people find it difficult to understand the distance/ range these signages are applicable for.
4. When vehicles are towed, users are not notified by the traffic police. Users often obtain this information from nearby vendors.
5. A portion of the users also plan their schedule by allocating certain amount of time to find a parking space.
6. Vehicles are parked on both sides of a street causing traffic jam. The process of parking and removing the vehicle from the parking space in busy streets also cause traffic issues.
7. Even though valet parking is provided by certain commercial spaces, 70% of users in the interview expressed their preference for self parking over valet parking due to security and trust factors.
8. Cramped spaces for parking

INSIGHTS FROM RESEARCH ANALYSIS

• Parking spaces are not sufficient to accommodate for the number of vehicles
• Parking spaces are not easily identifiable
• A lot of users experience vehicle damage in public parking
• People do not mind using paid parking as long as there no waiting period

The Ice-berg Model

Additionally, post conducting user interviews, the Ice-berg model was applied to events to gain a deeper understanding of the system. The Ice-berg Model helped interpret the event at various levels such as patterns, structure and mental models. Below are a few common events with respect to street parking along with the application of the Ice-berg model for analysis.

Event 01: User is unable to find a parking spot

Event 02: User’s vehicle is towed by the traffic police

Event 03: User is unable to differentiate between ‘Parking’ and ‘No Parking’ zones

INSIGHTS FROM ICE-BERG MODEL

• Unavailability of parking spaces due to high vehicle density and the inability to locate/identify parking zones
• The government does not have a formal system of informing the owner regarding towed vehicles as it does not see the need to have one. People are expected to contact the police for missing vehicles.
• Cramping and vehicle damage occurs because of the need to fit more vehicles in less space
• People are open to using paid parking to avoid penalty and to ensure security of the vehicle

Conclusion

The Ice-berg model provides understanding of a problem at various levels like patterns, structure and mental models which helps solve problems not only at the solution level, but at a thematic level. It provides a deeper understanding contrary to the surface level visibility of the problem, identifying the root cause of the issue.

The above is a system level interpretation of the problems involved in parking. Going forward, I would like to analyse the gaps and opportunities for design intervention within this space to ease the process of parking in public spaces.