Desenvolvimento de soluções inovadoras e tecnológicas para a realocação dinâmica do espaço viário. Uma Abordagem de Design Thinking

06/30/2025

Urban areas allocate a large part of their space to roadways, often underutilised outside peak hours, revealing the inefficiency of fixed road space allocation. This study assesses the suitability of Design Thinking in creating dynamic and equitable solutions for urban space management, based on an empirical study with master’s students from Instituto Superior Técnico. Participants were challenged to propose solutions for the dynamic redistribution of streets in complex areas of Lisbon, where movement and stationary uses coexist. They followed the Design Thinking stages defined by the d.school: Empathy, Definition, Ideation, Prototyping, and Testing. The proposals were grouped into three categories: (i) Social and Leisure Spaces, focused on urban social interaction; (ii) Innovations in Mobility and Transport, aimed at optimising road space management and public transport; and (iii) Safety and Accessibility, seeking to improve urban navigation for vulnerable populations. Solutions were also classified by technological level, using a scale from 0 (non-technological) to 5 (fully connected). The most advanced level achieved was Level 3 (Infrastructure and Vehicle Technology), while Level 2 recorded the highest number of proposals, with three solutions. Possibilities for advancing to higher levels were also explored. The study concludes that Design Thinking is suitable for developing dynamic and fair urban space solutions, although it presents methodological limitations, particularly in anticipating more advanced technological levels (Levels 4 and 5). It also reinforces the importance of participatory (bottom-up) approaches and highlights the need for flexible and innovative strategies that address community-specific needs through the Design Thinking process.

Authors in the community:

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  M

  Margarida Marques da Silva Leite

  ist186885

Supervisors of this institution:

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  G

  Gabriel Costa Valença

  ist194281

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  F

  Filipe Manuel Mercier Vilaça e Moura

  ist14188

civil-engineering - Civil engineering

por - Portuguese

Instituto Superior Técnico