Density Is Destiny

Design for Shared Experience in the Coming Age of Autonomous Vehicles

Context

Everything we know about cars is about to change.

In the face of sharp population increases, widespread migration to cities, climate change, and aging infrastructure, four vectors of change: autonomy, ridesharing, electrification, and connectivity, have given us a chance to fundamentally rethink how we leverage the automobile in cities.

Thesis

How might we build the shared, autonomous car future city-dwellers want and need?

Density is Destiny is a collection of 5 unique design projects exploring the future of shared, autonomous transit in cities. Using a multidisciplinary design practice and a design-thinking methodology, I propose how we might create more useful, sustainable, and equitable solutions to transit.

Projects

SVA NYC
Porter

An autonomous delivery drone for commercial-scale transit systems.

SVA NYC
Huddle

An speculative, kids-only ridesharing service utilizing autonomous robotaxis.

SVA NYC
Locale

A pop-up user research exercise prototyping autonomous ridesharing experiences.

SVA NYC
Mobilitylab

A design thinking workshop ideating on the future of modular, shared vehicles.

SVA NYC
Insurii

A behavior-based insurance service encouraging safer driving through social nudging.

“Most cars go unused over 95% of the day. Those that are driven average only 1.6 riders per trip.”

The Author, from Density is Destiny

Process

Presentation

Book

“The future is happening underneath our feet, and the most exciting time in the history of the automobile is right now.”

The Author, from Density is Destiny