Challenge Question
How should the urban sidewalk curb be redesigned to handle its growing number of competing interests?
Partner: MaRS Discovery District
Project Summary
For cities everywhere in the world, the sidewalk curb is an increasingly contested slice of real estate. It is a liminal space where parking, pedestrians, cyclists, couriers, and drivers all incessantly compete with one another. More recently, it has been under increased pressure from rapidly growing demands created by new business models: Transportation Network Companies (ridesharing or ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft), food delivery through services such as Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes, and goods delivery from the increasing boom of online purchases. In the near future, the introduction of driverless vehicles to this already strained setting could bring everything to a standstill. This project seeks a diverse, multi-disciplinary team to conceptualize a curb that allows for all these competing interests—what does it look like? How does it work? Interested students might have backgrounds including urban planning, public policy, the social sciences, technology, and design. Team members should be skilled in communication and interested in environmentally friendly, sustainable solutions that support the diverse populations of cities and urban areas.
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Partner Video
Organizational Profile
The MaRS Discovery District is a not-for-profit corporation founded in Toronto in 2000. Today, MaRS reaches beyond its initial focus as an acronym for “Medical and Related Sciences,” extending to fields such as information and communications technology, engineering, and social innovation. As North America’s largest urban innovation hub, MaRS aims to help the 1,400+ startups and innovators in our ecosystem to create a better world. MaRS brings together the innovation community, public and private sector stakeholders, investors, and citizens to build novel solutions to grow the economy and generate impact, helping to create successful global businesses from Canada's science, technology, and social innovation. As of 2014, startup companies emerging from MaRS have created more than 4,000 jobs, and between 2011 and 2014 have raised over $750 million in capital investments. Through our consultative engagements and introductions to our startups, our Partner Solutions Group helps MaRS’s corporate partners adopt—and adapt to—disruptive technologies that drive competitive advantage and create social impact.
Partner Website
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Additional Resources
Key Words
- Transportation
- Urban Sidewalks
- City Planning