This was a group project done in collaboration with Nishigandha Chitale and Swagath Sivakumar
This project aimed at coming up with innovative, practical and futuristic solutions for waste management and sustainability problems of the future through appropriate research and ideation. Since it was a project taken up by the class as a whole various forms of research was done in smaller groups which was then put together as a whole to come up with the personas, insights and problem statement. After this as a sub group, we worked on our solutions and presenting them visually to communicate out concepts more effectively.
This project aimed at coming up with innovative, practical and futuristic solutions for waste management and sustainability problems of the future through appropriate research and ideation. Since it was a project taken up by the class as a whole various forms of research was done in smaller groups which was then put together as a whole to come up with the personas, insights and problem statement. After this as a sub group, we worked on our solutions and presenting them visually to communicate out concepts more effectively.
Overlying concepts:
1. Community based self-sufficiency
2. The concept of the city as a vortex, dealing with whatever waste it generates within itself
3. Using incentives and persuasive design at community and personal levels in order to create a kind of self policing system which is sustainable
2. The concept of the city as a vortex, dealing with whatever waste it generates within itself
3. Using incentives and persuasive design at community and personal levels in order to create a kind of self policing system which is sustainable
TOWN MAP:
The city will be divided into wards which will be further divided into units. The transport system will be cycles within units, public self driven vehicles between units and trains between wards.
Also there will be green corridors as shown in the illustration to preserve diversity of flaura and fauna.
Also there will be green corridors as shown in the illustration to preserve diversity of flaura and fauna.
SEWAGE AND ELECTRICITY:
In terms of sewage treatment, there will be a primary plant in every unit and a secondary sewage treatment plant with more facilities on a larger scale at the ward level. At the primary level the sewage will be treated to give sludge and clean water. This clean water will go back to the houses for consumption while this sludge will be treated in the secondary plants to create energy.
Energy requirements in houses will be fulfilled through solar energy collected by solar panels on every house roof. If houses have greater energy produced than consumed they can sell this back to the grid.
INDUSTRIES:
The industries will be given incentives to be more eco-friendly and sustainable in their activities. They will be encouraged to either use reusable items, compostable materials or biodegradable plastic for all packaging while manufacturing products. If they follow these norms, they will be given tax rebates by the government.
WASTE MANAGEMENT:
In every house there will be 3 chutes- Biodegradable, Recyclable and biomedical- with sensors which will detect the material and allow or not into the chute. The wet waste which is biodegradable will go from the chute directly into a biogas machine and will be used to generate biogas which will be given back to the houses for their cooking gas needs. The slurry that comes out of this process will be given back to the houses for them to use in their rooftop gardens. (Every house that does not have solar panels on their roof will have to have a garden instead).
The recyclable items will be collected in the smart bins installed. These smart bins will be connected to the cloud network which will inform the officials as and when its getting full. These items will then be transferred to the recycling center.
The bio-medical waste will be sent to the industrial composter which will be capable of breaking down such material to create compost which will be given back to the community to be used in the community farm (as explained further).
The recyclable items will be collected in the smart bins installed. These smart bins will be connected to the cloud network which will inform the officials as and when its getting full. These items will then be transferred to the recycling center.
The bio-medical waste will be sent to the industrial composter which will be capable of breaking down such material to create compost which will be given back to the community to be used in the community farm (as explained further).
RECYCLING:
The recycling centers will give out all the recycled items and materials such as plastic either to the industries to used in their manufacturing process or to the library of things which will be set up in every unit. This library of things will act as a common source of resources for people of the units to rent things from thus reducing need for new products. Also the library of things can have 3D printers where recycled plastic can be used to create new products.
COMMUNITY ASPECTS:
As mentioned above, the library of things will exist in every unit which will act as a common source of resources for a small subscription amount.
Every unit will have a community farm which will be run by people of the unit who volunteer to help. Also additional compost created from waste within the unit will be used here. Periodically, a farmers market will be set up where all the units of the ward can sell their vegetables to each other thus creating a space for exchange. The money gained through this sales can be used to maintain the farm itself.
UNIT REWARD SYSTEM:
In order to motivate units to work towards sustainability, incentives in the form of lower costs for essential resources such as electricity and water will be offered. Using smart dustbins, the government will be able to compare the amounts of recycled items given by every unit and
INFORMATION NETWORK:
Every ward will have a Center for Sustainability, an institution which will be the heart of the activities of the ward. This institution will have both interactions with the government and the people of the ward. This center will send its researchers on visits to the units to see how the sustainable practices are being carried out and also residents will be encouraged to volunteer to work with the Center for Sustainability in their research endeavors.
It will also be the CFS that will look at the leaderboards and track the progress of various units with the help of the government in order to give the incentives.
It will also be the CFS that will look at the leaderboards and track the progress of various units with the help of the government in order to give the incentives.
DECENTRALISED SOCIAL NETWORK:
A decentralised social network will be set up such that there can be easy communication between the residents, the city officials and the CFS members since they will all have to interact reglarly and effectively for the efficient and progressive running of this system.
ECOSYSTEM SHOWING THE EXCHANGES
Below is the complete ecosystem map showing all the exchanges within the city including monetary, informative and manpower exchanges between the various stakeholders of the system.
