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Digital applications are transforming how people interact with their cities, offering new pathways for engagement, empowerment, and inclusivity. The Apps for Citizens seminar focuses on leveraging technology to bridge the gap between citizens and their urban environments.
This seminar provides students with the tools to conceptualize and design apps that address real urban challenges, promote civic participation, and enhance the quality of life for diverse communities. Through a combination of lectures, case studies, hands-on workshops, and peer collaboration, students will explore the principles of human-centered design, urban problem-solving, and the potential of technology to innovative how citizens can interact within an urban society and landscape.
By the end of the course, students will present a fully developed app concept and engagement strategy tailored to empower citizens in a specific urban context. This seminar will equip the students with design thinking mindset, enabling them to approach complex problems creatively across their fields of expertise.
The aim of the Apps for Citizens seminar is to provide students with the tools to design and conceptualize applications that empower urban citizens and address real-world urban challenges. It offers a framework for understanding human-centered design, principles of urban engagement, and the role of design in fostering inclusive interactions and promoting innovation in the urban environment. The seminar includes practical exercises to develop app concepts, along with insights into user experience design and digital engagement.
At course completion, the student will:
Noise is a major public health concern in urban areas, contributing to various psychological and physical issues while diminishing overall quality of life. At the same time, no one wants a completely silent city—urban soundscapes shape a city’s unique identity, reflect economic activity, and foster vibrant social life. How can an app help residents navigate … Read more
Barcelona, like many modern cities, experiences the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, where built-up areas retain more heat than surrounding natural landscapes. This interactive map visualizes temperature variations across the city, highlighting areas most affected by heat buildup. 🛰️ What This Map Shows: 📍 Heat Hotspots – Areas with high surface temperatures due to dense construction and limited … Read more
Walking through Ciutat Vella, the heart of Barcelona, one can’t help but notice the overflowing bins, the persistent smell of garbage, and the discarded trash left along the streets. Despite the city’s continuous efforts to keep public spaces clean, waste management remains a pressing issue, particularly in the historic district where narrow streets and high … Read more
Sentir l’Espai Urbà Cities communicate with us through different ways: sound, image, smells, textures, materials, weather, among others. But how do we perceive all these layers? How do we feel about it? What role does urban design play in this exchange? How do we feel the city? Every day, we are immersed in urban surroundings … Read more
Veïns is a social app created in order to create neighborhood connectivity and social well being centered to focus on people feeling excluded from the community or alone. Context Impact of social interaction and health risks related to loneliness Tasked with tackling a public health issue in Barcelona via a design thinking, double-diamond methodology, we … Read more
