Promoting a new way of living in cities
They give us the possibility to rethink spaces in our cities to make them inclusive and thus help generate solutions that favour an urban environment without gender inequalities.
«Urban space determines how we organise our lives and our community, ultimately our society. From that point of view, it reflects and reproduces the gender stereotypes we have grown up with and live with».
How could we improve our city by being not only sustainable but also inclusive?
Based on our Research Questions, of which there were many, we decided that we had to do a Netnography on «smart cities» that are already operating in the world and how they are being used to solve important issues such as gender inequality.
We needed to know first-hand what citizens and experts thought, so we prepared surveys and interviews, including a Focus Group, obtaining valuable information about how we live, what worries us and what we would like to change to improve our lives in cities.
Through a safari in a peripheral neighbourhood, we obtained the painpoints that led us to the insight to define our product.
Starting from our idea of generating energy for the neighbourhood based on the impulse given by the citizens themselves. The behaviour of a neuron came to mind.
A neuron is a cell of the nervous system consisting of a nucleus and a series of extensions, which also produce and transmit nerve impulses.
Then…. If a neuron can create impulses reaching other neurons that in turn create larger impulses, why not make it possible for a neighbourhood to generate these impulses through its citizens, regenerating the area and thus creating more life and more security.
This app boosts the neighbourhood through the energy generated by the user.
While walking through the tiled area, the user generates energy that is stored and, depending on what he or she has achieved, is reported in benefits for the user such as discounts in shops in the area.
We decided to establish a range of colours with a special meaning.
A blue-as-darkness that would be the state of the neighbourhood without the app.
The electric blue is the corporate colour of Madrid City Council.
The colour purple championing gender equality.
Yellow is the colour of the energy generated in the neighbourhood through the app.