Mapping Wicked Problems: Public Transportation in Pittsburgh

by Francis Carter, Bori Lee, Hajira Qazi, Delanie Ricketts, Nehal Vora

PROCESS

Our topic was Lack of Access to Public Transportation. We began our wicked problem mapping exercise with a two-stage brainstorming session. First, we listed the five categories of issues — Environment, Social, Infrastructure, Geography, and Economics — and collectively brainstormed various reasons related to each category which may contribute to a lack of access to public transportation for area residents. In doing this, we found infrastructure to be the major contributing impediment to access. We then rearranged those reasons to organize them by major causes and consequence, and found that the root cause of many of the issues related to the Port Authority had to do with budgetary problems. We need to do more research as to what may be causing the budget shortage, but what is clear is that not enough money is being put into the Port Authority to make it a viable and attractive transportation option for Pittsburgh residents.

After brainstorming, we put the categories, causes, and consequences that we identified into a digital format using bubbl.us. In looking at all the different nodes collectively, we were able to link various causes and consequences. For example, we saw that low demand for public transportation (an economic issue) is due to the buses being unreliable, which is due to the poor infrastructure of both the Port Authority system and the city itself. We also were able to further break down certain issues to their root cause. For example, “lack of budget” is really an issue of how taxes are being distributed among city departments.

After fine-tuning all of the causes and consequences, we fine-tuned the visuals to make the web easier to interpret. Our map can best be interpreted by identifying the initial categories (black) leading to primary (red) and secondary causes (yellow) ultimately manifesting as systemic effects (blue).

KEY FINDINGS

We found two root causes that were largely contributing to the lack of access to public transportation in Pittsburgh. One was budgetary, and the other had to do with the geography and layout of the city. Because the Port Authority has a limited budget, they are unable to add features to the transportation system that may make it both more attractive and more accessible, such as additional buses and stops, heated bus shelters, a train system that isn’t dependent on traffic flow, and updated technology. Because of the low appeal, fewer people are likely to take public transportation, which results in lower revenue, which feeds into the budget problems. However, to compensate for the low revenue, the fares are increased, which only makes buses even more less appealing.

The city of Pittsburgh was not planned initially to be interconnected, rather enclaves were developed for social exclusion, keeping specific cultural groups contained by geographical and social barriers, with the goal of discouraging the organizing of labor and trade unions. This was a strategic move and isolated populations to specific neighborhoods, keeping the labor force / cultures isolated and non-integrated. As a result, no coherent city grid structure was developed to connect disparate neighborhoods. This in turn resulted in a piecemeal approach over time which sought to connect and integrate these neighborhoods.

This approach to development has had a significant impact on the overall layout of the city and makes it difficult to navigate city streets. With over 40 different neighborhoods, public transportation can be stretched thin in an attempt to connect people where they need to be. Add work / school schedules and seasonality to the task and factors begin to quickly add up against arriving to your destination in a timely manner, which affects the overall appeal of Pittsburgh’s Port Authority bus service. If you cannot rely on a service, and you have other means of getting where you need to be, why would you go through the trouble of riding public transportation?

This begins to cause a socio-economic rift between the people with alternative transportation options and residents beholden to the Port Authority. In order to compensate for the lack of ridership, the city must increase the fare in order to meet operating costs. This exemplifies a positive feedback loop, resulting in a decrease in ridership, reduced access to services and increased costs for ridership. Appeal and participation go along way in maintaining and supporting public services.

LINKS TO OTHER WICKED PROBLEMS

We see gentrification significantly influencing access to public transportation in the future. With higher incomes, there will be even less demand for public transportation. Also, when locals are pushed out the city where there are fewer bus routes, it will become more difficult for them to get around without a car, and will take significantly longer for them to commute back into the city for work.

Also, because the city is not conducive to public transportation, more people are likely to buy cars in Pittsburgh, which will have a negative effect on the environment and air quality.

REFLECTIONS

One of the things we found difficult was distinguishing root cause versus secondary root cause versus consequences, and making sure each node was connected to the correct category and cause, especially in cases where some causes and consequences are cyclical. For example, higher bus fares are a consequence of budgetary problems, but higher fares also cause low appeal for the Port Authority, which leads to less demand, which leads to less income, which causes budgetary problems. These inter-connecting loops are difficult to communicate visually in a way that is meaningful and easy to interpret by an outsider.

Though creating the web helped us to identify and think through all of the factors contributing to this wicked problem, all of the interconnecting links crossing throughout the map makes it difficult for a client or other outsider to interpret as a standalone visual. The map demands additional, in-depth explanation. We also wonder whether seeing the complexity of the problem may be intimidating or overwhelming to clients who are seeking a solution.

Still, as designers, we feel that mapping the wicked problem is a worthwhile and useful process to articulate all of the contributing factors — large and small — that make the problem so wicked. The map itself, with related causes being linked, will be useful when identifying which areas, when addressed, can have the biggest impact, and which specific points can set off a ripple effect to transform other areas of the map.

With more time, we would like to explore different methods of communicating this complex web to potential clients. We would also re-evaluate each node more closely to either identify additional links or identify additional causes or consequences.

Written for Transition Design, taught at Carnegie Mellon University by Terry Irwin and Gideon Kossoff