Human-Centered Design Putting People at the Heart of Transport Infrastructure Planning

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

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Cover design by Jasper Lauzon Illustrations by Cognitive

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK

Human-Centered Design Putting People at the Heart of Transport Infrastructure Planning

The Project

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is financing the Guizhou Gui’an New District New Urbanization Smart Transport System Development Project, which aims to assist Gui’an in developing innovative solutions of green transport development and mitigating negative environmental impacts by providing high- technology intelligent transport systems (ITS). This is in line with ADB’s vision, under its Strategy 2030, to achieve a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. The three out of seven key operational priorities, which underpin this smart transport project in Guizhou, are:

Making cities more livable

Tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmenttal sustainability

Accelerating progress in gender equality

Human-centered design (HCD) puts an emphasis on understanding user needs, both explicit and latent. Insights from conversations with users become the basis for exploring innovation opportunities. Promising ideas are brought to life as quick-and-dirty prototypes, which are then tested and refined. Development practitioners will recognize participatory principles in the design thinking toolbox, repackaged into an agile problem-solving process.

ADB is helping the government develop ITS and sustainable transport infrastructure to make public transport enticing for all, averting the fate of many cities that are choking in traffic.

Here is our story of how Gui’an New District, Guizhou Province, is applying HCD principles in transport infrastructure planning.

INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS ADB is helping the People’s Republic of China develop an ITS and sustainable transport infastructure in Gui’an, a new district established in Guizhou Province in 2014.

With rapid change from rural to urban, ITS will help Gui’an avoid the fate of many traffic-choked cities by making public transport comfortable, safe, accessible, and efficient—encouraging people to leave their cars at home.

ORDINARY PEOPLE BEING LEFT OUTWhen it comes to making cities more livable and smart, infrastructure planning excludes ordinary people from a process that will impact heavily on their lives. This is where HCD comes in.

HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGNWith HCD, the focus is on making large infrastructure projects more reponsive to the people’s needs by engaging them upfront and drawing inspiration from them.

INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEMS DESIGN IDEASHere are some of the ITS design ideas that came out of the HCD process. ITS will help people easily navigate where they want to go, notify them when to leave, and enable gadgets that track users through the Global Positioning System (GPS), which provides live travel information and allows responsible adults to track the progress and safety of young children and the elderly.

At the bus stop, ITS can provide real-time transit information. Buses are equipped with fare collection systems and information systems to provide stress-free travel.

People will be able to report incidents and experiences, making ITS smarter and more responsive real-time. The data generated by ITS will be open to create further opportunities for businesses to offer additional services and bring more convenience to commuters.

To accelerate the development of apps and services, the project will sponsor hackathons on themes, such as road safety, disabilty inclusion, and green mobility. To excite school-age girls about ITS, the project will run coding camps, with the hope of inspiring future data scientists and engineers.

HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN. BY GIVING PEOPLE A VOICE, WE’RE MAKING CITIES MORE LIVABLE.

This study was funded by the Republic of Korea’s e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund.

Human-Centered Design Putting the People at the Heart of Transport Infrastructure Planning

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping the Government of the People’s Republic of China develop intelligent transport systems. This is part of an ADB-financed sustainable transport infrastructure project to make public transport enticing for all. The brochure explains how Gui’an New District in Guizhou Province is applying human-centered design (HCD) principles in transport infrastructure planning to better understand user needs, both explicit and latent.

About the Asian Development Bank

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance.

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