As a designer I'm hesitant to claim to be able to solve problems without completely immersing myself in the environment that I want to design for. For this course I want to use my design background to solve pressing social issues in India because
Issues of access to clean drinking water, sanitation, education and waste management I want to eventually want to address. I feel, however, that I am not currently equipped to design for these issues because my distance from my target audience. Also I have no prior background of working in rural India. I've spent the last few weeks brainstorming on areas that I want to look into and I have finally narrowed it down to one area.
Last week's reading "Identifying Venture Opportunities" helped my hone in on my problem definition. As of now, my concept will look at supporting and promoting bicycle riders in Indian cities.
The problem
In my brainstorming session I looked at what the problem is and why I want to address it. From my own experience as a cyclist in a big city in India and from the stories shared with me, I drew out some key points. I also looked at research on bicycle usage in Indian cities.
What is my market?
When we talk about the "urban" population people associate rich urban bicycle riders. On the contrary, a large percentage of bicycle riders fall into lower middle working population who commute short distances daily. Literature even suggests that as literacy increases cycle ridership decreases. There is an emerging market of young professionals in cities who adopt bicycles as their mode of transportation for different reasons from fitness to low carbon footprint.
What can I do?
I have not narrowed the scope of my project with a single solution. I am currently exploring everything from services and cheaper safety equipment to policy level changes that need to be implemented. Something interesting I found was that under the JNNURM fund development policy makers want to include cyclists and infrastructure for cyclists as part of urban development. It will take a long time for that to be implemented but that validates my area of focus to some extent.
- India is my home and there are many issues that I have faced and seen that I've wanted to tackle.
- India's growing economy is a great platform for social ventures.
Issues of access to clean drinking water, sanitation, education and waste management I want to eventually want to address. I feel, however, that I am not currently equipped to design for these issues because my distance from my target audience. Also I have no prior background of working in rural India. I've spent the last few weeks brainstorming on areas that I want to look into and I have finally narrowed it down to one area.
Last week's reading "Identifying Venture Opportunities" helped my hone in on my problem definition. As of now, my concept will look at supporting and promoting bicycle riders in Indian cities.
The problem
In my brainstorming session I looked at what the problem is and why I want to address it. From my own experience as a cyclist in a big city in India and from the stories shared with me, I drew out some key points. I also looked at research on bicycle usage in Indian cities.
What is my market?
When we talk about the "urban" population people associate rich urban bicycle riders. On the contrary, a large percentage of bicycle riders fall into lower middle working population who commute short distances daily. Literature even suggests that as literacy increases cycle ridership decreases. There is an emerging market of young professionals in cities who adopt bicycles as their mode of transportation for different reasons from fitness to low carbon footprint.
What can I do?
I have not narrowed the scope of my project with a single solution. I am currently exploring everything from services and cheaper safety equipment to policy level changes that need to be implemented. Something interesting I found was that under the JNNURM fund development policy makers want to include cyclists and infrastructure for cyclists as part of urban development. It will take a long time for that to be implemented but that validates my area of focus to some extent.
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