AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Sustainable Cities & Communities
KEYWORDS
disabilities, responsive design, public spaces
COUNTRY
United Kingdom
DESIGNED BY
Ross Atkin Jonathan Scott - Ross Atkin Associates
WEBSITE
http://www.rossatkin.com/wp/?portfolio=responsive-street-furniture
Responsive Street Furniture
Smart system adapts public spaces to suit pedestrians' needs
This system centers around using smart technology to make streets easier to use for disabled people with different kinds of impairments. It borrows the principle of responsive web design—the ability of a website to reconfigure to the need of individual users—and applies this to the physical environment. People can register their smartphones and request services that go into effect when they pass the responsive furniture, like brighter street lighting, extra spaces to sit, audio information, and longer intervals for crosswalk signals. Once users set up with the system, the responsive items will perform services according to their profile without requiring any further direct action.