Chapter 2
Identify problems
In Step 1, we created a „treasure map“ to illustrate the neighborhood. This enabled us to identify the spatial advantages as well as the disadvantages of the area. In this step, you will see the conclusions we drew from the results of this inventory and learn how to identify mobility problems in the area. We will also reveal how talking to others can clarify where problems are rooted and how to state them clearly and simply. To make a change, it requires projects that address the real issues in the neighborhood where problems are actually perceived.
Chapter 2
Identify problemes
In Step 1, we created a „treasure map“ to illustrate the neighborhood. This enabled us to identify the spatial advantages as well as the disadvantages of the area. In this step, you will see the conclusions we drew from the results of this inventory and learn how to identify mobility problems in the area. We will also reveal how talking to others can clarify where problems are rooted and how to state them clearly and simply. To make a change, it requires projects that address the real issues in the neighborhood where problems are actually perceived.
A. To know where the pinch is
A. To know where the pinch is
Our „treasure maps“ (see step 1) were extremely helpful. They depict the situation in the neighborhoods as we found it at the beginning of the project. A few examples from Stuttgart-Rot illustrate this very well:
During our on-site visits, we found that many cars were parked on the streets, many of them in no-parking zones. This often makes it dangerous to walk there, and the public space is perceived by people as being „car-dominated.“ Experts refer to this as „high parking pressure.“ This is exactly the case in Stuttgart-Rot. When the new neighborhood was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, only a few people owned cars. Therefore, the residential buildings were mostly not equipped with parking spaces, and parking spots were primarily provided on the streets.
We old people simply feel left behind here – like on a railway siding!“
A look at the map shows us that Stuttgart-Rot has a wide range of schools and social facilities. However, there are only a few basic services, such as supermarkets, bakeries, post offices, banks, or pharmacies. Statistics show that many older people live in this neighborhood. It is important for everyone, not only older people, to be able to easily reach these facilities and bus or subway stops on foot.
Since mobility is very complex, such statements about cause-and-effect relationships are sometimes not that simple. To understand „where the pinch is“, you must primarily be able to listen well. The real experts on local mobility are the people who live in the neighborhood and know the situation from their own experience. When scientists and neighborhood residents collaborate in a project like MobiQ, they must first develop a common understanding. Therefore, we conducted many interviews with residents. This allowed us to get a good impression of the reality and life in the neighborhood.
Using the information from the interviews, we were able to fill out so-called „ego-centered network maps.“ In them, we entered important places and people. We used this method to understand how our three locations – Stuttgart-Rot, Geislingen, and Waldburg – function socially and what social life is like there, how people’s daily lives look. We call this the „social maps.“ The person being interviewed is always in the center. Usually arranged in a circular form, they record important people or places in their life. The distance from the center indicates how closely the actors are related. Additionally, geographical network maps were filled out. They show which places are important to the people. Citizens, for example, recorded where they have to go for work, where their parents, best friends, or life partners live, or where they go for sports every week. As a result, we were able to precisely understand the purposes for which the residents are on the move and what they need to do and accomplish in their daily lives. Scientifically, this is called the „individual mobility constructions and practices“ of the people.
By combining various analytical methods and data sources, we can establish a connection and base a well-founded assumption on it. In other words, we can formulate the following hypothesis: One reason why car ownership is increasing in Stuttgart-Rot could be that the local services and access to public transport are insufficient for many residents. This leads to the problem that people who do not want or cannot be mobile by car are prevented from moving freely within the neighborhood due to very tightly and, above all, improperly parked cars. The obstructed view of streets, other vehicles, and people caused by vehicles often poses an obstacle and even a safety risk, especially for children, wheelchair users, or older people.
From these hypotheses, we then created so-called „personas,“ a type of mobility profile, where the individual respondents were no longer identifiable. These concrete and precise „personas“ later helped us in the mobility projects to consistently form a shared understanding of the problem at hand.
A look at the map shows us that Stuttgart-Rot has a wide range of schools and social facilities. However, there are only a few basic services, such as supermarkets, bakeries, post offices, banks, or pharmacies. Statistics show that many older people live in this neighborhood. It is important for everyone, not only older people, to be able to easily reach these facilities and bus or subway stops on foot.
Since mobility is very complex, such statements about cause-and-effect relationships are sometimes not that simple. To understand „where the shoe pinches,“ you must primarily be able to listen well. The real experts on local mobility are the people who live in the neighborhood and know the situation from their own experience. When scientists and neighborhood residents collaborate in a project like MobiQ, they must first develop a common understanding. Therefore, we conducted many interviews with residents. This allowed us to get a good impression of the reality and life in the neighborhood.
Using the information from the interviews, we were able to fill out so-called „ego-centered network maps.“ In them, we entered important places and people. We used this method to understand how our three locations – Stuttgart-Rot, Geislingen, and Waldburg – function socially and what social life is like there, how people’s daily lives look. We call this the „social maps.“ The person being interviewed is always in the center. Usually arranged in a circular form, they record important people or places in their life. The distance from the center indicates how closely the actors are related. Additionally, geographical network maps were filled out. They show which places are important to the people. Citizens, for example, recorded where they have to go for work, where their parents, best friends, or life partners live, or where they go for sports every week. As a result, we were able to precisely understand the purposes for which the residents are on the move and what they need to do and accomplish in their daily lives. Scientifically, this is called the „individual mobility constructions and practices“ of the people.
By combining various analytical methods and data sources, we can establish a connection and base a well-founded assumption on it. In other words, we can formulate the following hypothesis: One reason why car ownership is increasing in Stuttgart-Rot could be that the local services and access to public transport are insufficient for many residents. This leads to the problem that people who do not want or cannot be mobile by car are prevented from moving freely within the neighborhood due to very tightly and, above all, improperly parked cars. The obstructed view of streets, other vehicles, and people caused by vehicles often poses an obstacle and even a safety risk, especially for children, wheelchair users, or older people.
From these hypotheses, we then created so-called „personas,“ a type of mobility profile, where the individual respondents were no longer identifiable. These concrete and precise „personas“ later helped us in the mobility projects to consistently form a shared understanding of the problem at hand.
Definition of Persona
A persona is a fictional yet realistic representation of a typical user of a product or service. Personas are used in marketing, design, and product development to deepen the understanding of the target audience and to design products or services in a user-centered way.
Beispielhafte Persona
A. To know where the pinch is
Our „treasure maps“ (see step 1) were extremely helpful. They depict the situation in the neighborhoods as we found it at the beginning of the project. A few examples from Stuttgart-Rot illustrate this very well:
During our on-site visits, we found that many cars were parked on the streets, many of them in no-parking zones. This often makes it dangerous to walk there, and the public space is perceived by people as being „car-dominated.“ Experts refer to this as „high parking pressure.“ This is exactly the case in Stuttgart-Rot. When the new neighborhood was developed in the 1950s and 1960s, only a few people owned cars. Therefore, the residential buildings were mostly not equipped with parking spaces, and parking spots were primarily provided on the streets.
We old people simply feel left behind here – like on a railway siding!“
A look at the map shows us that Stuttgart-Rot has a wide range of schools and social facilities. However, there are only a few basic services, such as supermarkets, bakeries, post offices, banks, or pharmacies. Statistics show that many older people live in this neighborhood. It is important for everyone, not only older people, to be able to easily reach these facilities and bus or subway stops on foot.
Since mobility is very complex, such statements about cause-and-effect relationships are sometimes not that simple. To understand „where the shoe pinches,“ you must primarily be able to listen well. The real experts on local mobility are the people who live in the neighborhood and know the situation from their own experience. When scientists and neighborhood residents collaborate in a project like MobiQ, they must first develop a common understanding. Therefore, we conducted many interviews with residents. This allowed us to get a good impression of the reality and life in the neighborhood.
Using the information from the interviews, we were able to fill out so-called „ego-centered network maps.“ In them, we entered important places and people. We used this method to understand how our three locations – Stuttgart-Rot, Geislingen, and Waldburg – function socially and what social life is like there, how people’s daily lives look. We call this the „social maps.“ The person being interviewed is always in the center. Usually arranged in a circular form, they record important people or places in their life. The distance from the center indicates how closely the actors are related. Additionally, geographical network maps were filled out. They show which places are important to the people. Citizens, for example, recorded where they have to go for work, where their parents, best friends, or life partners live, or where they go for sports every week. As a result, we were able to precisely understand the purposes for which the residents are on the move and what they need to do and accomplish in their daily lives. Scientifically, this is called the „individual mobility constructions and practices“ of the people.
By combining various analytical methods and data sources, we can establish a connection and base a well-founded assumption on it. In other words, we can formulate the following hypothesis: One reason why car ownership is increasing in Stuttgart-Rot could be that the local services and access to public transport are insufficient for many residents. This leads to the problem that people who do not want or cannot be mobile by car are prevented from moving freely within the neighborhood due to very tightly and, above all, improperly parked cars. The obstructed view of streets, other vehicles, and people caused by vehicles often poses an obstacle and even a safety risk, especially for children, wheelchair users, or older people.
From these hypotheses, we then created so-called „personas,“ a type of mobility profile, where the individual respondents were no longer identifiable. These concrete and precise „personas“ later helped us in the mobility projects to consistently form a shared understanding of the problem at hand.
B. We Are All Mobility Experts
B. We Are All Mobility Experts
By following the steps of creating treasure maps, collecting observations, identifying problems, and creating personas, we were able to gather extensive knowledge about the locations. Working together with the citizens, we acquired the skills necessary to strengthen and support the projects. Of course, not everything worked as we had imagined. We experienced some disappointments and setbacks. However, progress was made, and some things are much easier to tackle in a good team than alone.
By following the steps of creating treasure maps, collecting observations, identifying problems, and creating personas, we were able to gather extensive knowledge about the locations. Working together with the citizens, we acquired the skills necessary to strengthen and support the projects. Of course, not everything worked as we had imagined. We experienced some disappointments and setbacks. However, progress was made, and some things are much easier to tackle in a good team than alone.
Therefore, we briefly summarize our key learning steps here:
- To recognize connections and derive problems from them, a simple description of the conditions in the area is not enough.
- Only when the observations are linked to the knowledge of the people can problem hypotheses be formed. The people on the ground are the experts of their own mobility.
- Social and geographical network maps are easy to understand and useful for the project work when they are linked with the information from the interviews. This helped us get a precise picture of the situation on the ground. We were able to effectively support the projects in discussions with our knowledge.
Data must be processed. Personas are an important step in this process. They help develop problem scenarios and create an idea or even a vision of what it could look like on the ground if the project succeeds.
Therefore, we briefly summarize our key learning steps here:
- To recognize connections and derive problems from them, a simple description of the conditions in the area is not enough.
- Only when the observations are linked to the knowledge of the people can problem hypotheses be formed. The people on the ground are the experts of their own mobility.
- Social and geographical network maps are easy to understand and useful for the project work when they are linked with the information from the interviews. This helped us get a precise picture of the situation on the ground. We were able to effectively support the projects in discussions with our knowledge.
Data must be processed. Personas are an important step in this process. They help develop problem scenarios and create an idea or even a vision of what it could look like on the ground if the project succeeds.
C. Recognizing Challenges
C. Recognizing Challenges
You yourself are also an expert in your own mobility. Therefore, it is especially important that you carefully examine your own routines and mobility behavior. Based on an analysis like the one we described in step 1, you can already describe the problem you want to solve very precisely. It is also important that you coordinate with others and work with the people you collaborate with to develop a common problem definition. Because the more precisely the problem is defined, the easier it is to find solutions that others can support.
Take a simple notebook and note where you go, how you get there, and why over a specific period of time (ideally two weeks, including weekends). Make records of the modes of transport used (on foot, with a walker, by bicycle, bus, car, and also as a passenger with friends or family, etc.), the distances traveled (up to 3 km, up to 5 km, 6–10 km, more than 10 km, and other distances/trips), and the duration of the trips.
Note what worked well. Write down the feelings you had during your journey. During your „travel time,“ record the times, kilometers, and modes of transport. Try to fill out the remaining fields in the evening or during a quiet moment, so as not to have too many interruptions while using the diary. This way, you can recognize your own mobility behavior and recurring patterns.
Ask two or three collaborators in the project to do the same. If you manage to keep this diary for two weeks, you will have gained a great „treasure“ and a dataset for further work.
Faster than with the mobility diary, you will make progress with the method of social and geographical network maps that we used. Take about half an hour for each map and start by interviewing yourself and people around you.
Start with the social network map. Ask yourself the question: „Who are the important people in my life?“ Enter them in circles numbered with 1 (especially important) to 3 (important). Note how often you meet these people, how far away they live, and how you stay in touch (personally, by phone, by mail, by video, etc.).
You can organize these people on your network map, for example, by grouping friends from your soccer club in one area and colleagues from the same company in another.
Then, move on to the geographical network maps. Here, the question is: „What are the important places in my life?“
Here, you (or the person you’re interviewing) should list the locations in the same structured way as on the social network map. In other words, don’t list them by distance, but by importance. You don’t have to limit this exclusively to the neighborhood; here, too, you can group locations together. For example, you can group together places you usually visit using a specific mode of transportation. Use the thoughts you noted earlier about your social contacts as a guide. Important people are often linked to important places. Keep your notebook handy here as well, so no information is lost. Now think about how you get to these places and draw these routes on the treasure map. What comes to mind when you think about these routes? Ask yourself questions such as: Where are the spots in the neighborhood where problems keep occuring? Which sections of the route do you dislike traveling? Where do you accept a detour, and why? In the first step, always focus on the part of the route that lies within the neighborhood. In the end, you’ll have a map highlighting potential “problems” that you could address.
In your social network map, there are names of people who are important to you or who play a key role in your life. First, talk to these people about your observations. Perhaps you will also think of people who you know face similar challenges in their mobility. Share the results from your analysis with them and discuss the insights that emerged from reflecting on your mobility.
Start by talking to people in your close environment who are also mainly active in the neighborhood. Encourage them to use the same methods to structure their experiences. For example, invite them to fill out the network maps together.
Collect your findings and start looking for the problems that could also be solved. When you focus on your own mobility and that of the neighborhood, you quickly come up with ways to improve it and make it more sustainable. You recognize that collective engagement for change is possible and understand the ways in which it can happen.
The (Digital) Mobility Diary
Take a simple notebook and note where you go, how you get there, and why over a specific period of time (ideally two weeks, including weekends). Make records of the modes of transport used (on foot, with a walker, by bicycle, bus, car, and also as a passenger with friends or family, etc.), the distances traveled (up to 3 km, up to 5 km, 6–10 km, more than 10 km, and other distances/trips), and the duration of the trips.
Note what worked well. Write down the feelings you had during your journey. During your „travel time,“ record the times, kilometers, and modes of transport. Try to fill out the remaining fields in the evening or during a quiet moment, so as not to have too many interruptions while using the diary. This way, you can recognize your own mobility behavior and recurring patterns.
Ask two or three collaborators in the project to do the same. If you manage to keep this diary for two weeks, you will have gained a great „treasure“ and a dataset for further work.
Abbildung: Das Erstellen einer geografischen Netzwerkkarte gibt Aufschluss darüber, welche Orte dir oder der befragten Person besonders wichtig sind.
Person, die du befragst) ebenso strukturiert wie bei der sozialen Netzwerkkarte die Orte ein. Also nicht nach der Entfernung, sondern der Wichtigkeit. Das musst du nicht ausschließlich auf das Quartier beschränken, auch hier kannst du Gruppen von Orten bilden. So kannst du zum Beispiel Orte zusammenfassen, die du für gewöhnlich mit einem bestimmten Verkehrsmittel besuchst. Nutze dabei die vorher notierten Gedanken über deine sozialen Kontakte als Hilfe. Oft sind wichtige Personen auch mit wichtigen Orten verknüpft. Auch hier sollte das Notizbuch immer parat liegen, damit keine Informationen verloren gehen. Denke nun darüber nach, wie du zu diesen Orten gelangst und zeichne diese Wege auch in die Schatzkarte ein. Was kommt dir dabei in den Sinn, wenn du an diese Wege denkst? Stelle dir Fragen wie: Wo sind die Stellen im Quartier, an denen immer wieder Probleme auftauchen? Welche Teilstrecken fährst du dabei nicht gerne? Wo nimmst du einen Umweg in Kauf und warum? Konzentriere dich im ersten Schritt dabei stets auf den Teil des Weges, der im Quartier liegt. Am Ende wirst du eine Karte mit möglichen „Problemen“ haben, die du angehen könntest.
Abbildung: Ausschnitt beispielhafte Problemkarte Stuttgart-Rot
Involve Others:
In your social network map, there are names of people who are important to you or who play a key role in your life. First, talk to these people about your observations. Perhaps you will also think of people who you know face similar challenges in their mobility. Share the results from your analysis with them and discuss the insights that emerged from reflecting on your mobility.
Start by talking to people in your close environment who are also mainly active in the neighborhood. Encourage them to use the same methods to structure their experiences. For example, invite them to fill out the network maps together.
Collect your findings and start looking for the problems that could also be solved. When you focus on your own mobility and that of the neighborhood, you quickly come up with ways to improve it and make it more sustainable. You recognize that collective engagement for change is possible and understand the ways in which it can happen.
A Shared Problem Definition is Important
The more precisely you describe and define the problem, the greater the likelihood that it can be solved. For a topic that concerns many in the neighborhood, that makes life difficult for them, or for which there are better and more sustainable solutions, it is possible to find many allies. A problem definition shared by many people is a success criterion. It contains the energy for change, and in this way, it becomes easier to find alliance partners.
„Of course, there’s always pressure, ‚So, when are you finally getting your driver’s license?‘ because it’s still often seen as the norm.“
Once you have agreed on a shared problem, it must be summarized concisely. The best approach is as follows:
Focus on the essentials
Identify the key aspects of the problem and focus on the main causes and effects. A problem definition should be precise and focused.
Use clear language
Formulate the problem clearly and in simple terms. If necessary, find someone who is good with language. Avoid jargon or complex expressions.
Define the scope
Limit the scope of the problem. A problem definition should not be too broad. This helps focus on concrete solutions.
Highlight the importance
: Explain why the problem is important and what impact it has. Show why a solution is necessary.
Define the group of those affected
Describe who is affected by the problem and integrate this description into the problem definition
Once you have developed a shared problem definition and reached a common understanding, you are ready to look around and see how these problems have been solved in other places. Based on this, you can develop your own solution strategies
D. The Role of the City or Municipality
First and foremost, there must be an understanding that the people on the ground know best where their mobility challenges lie. The approach presented here is different from formal citizen participation, such as in the context of a zoning plan process. The approach presented here aims to unleash the social creativity of people in the neighborhoods in order to find sustainable mobility solutions that improve life locally. Sustainable mobility can arise from within society and jointly shaping the neighborhood can bring joy. One could also say that this allows for social learning and action, and positive future visions can be developed.
Often, this phase of mobility design takes place informally, but the city or municipality should support it. It is by no means a given that citizens engage in such ways and apply their creativity and wealth of experience for the good of the community. A municipality can support citizens by addressing their problems and developing solution ideas. A lively dialogue between citizens, administration, and politics can ultimately help everyone improve the quality of life and satisfaction locally.
„The car, the sacred cow of the Germans, that is a difficult topic!“
High parking pressure and the resulting search traffic are also noticeable in the city center of Geislingen. Photo: Julian Bansen
In Geislingen, there are bike paths, but they often suddenly end or directly merge into main roads. Photo: Julian Bansen
In rural areas, long distances are not uncommon, as here in Waldburg. Photo: Lukas Minnich
Cars parked on the streets in Stuttgart-Rot highlight the high space consumption of cars and also pose a significant safety risk. Photo: Barbara Hefner