Testing a New Model for a Sustainable Mobility in the City of Milan: The Condominium Car Sharing

Abstract

This chapter will describe the testing and prototyping of one service-idea concept: condominium-based electric car sharing. It describes the testing phases in a detailed way, explaining the choice of the prototyping specific contexts, the testing modality and the results. The choice to prototype the service idea, directly in interested locations, was made in order to come in contact with potential users and initiate a co-design process. Involving users has two main goals: understand the needs and the desires of users on the one hand, provide information and make car sharing opportunities more known and available to a wider public on the other hand. The interaction with users also allows the users themselves to come up with service improvements and integrations. The prototype was made in two co-housing complexes in Milan with different sizes and cultural background using the same prototyping method: testing lasted six months with a plan of meetings, focus groups and observation. During the testing, the conditions of use were modified and verified with the users. Users feedback, as well as design insights, were then elaborated and were able to generate a series of results and considerations. Subsequently, during the phase of re-elaboration of the results of our experimentation, we tried to imagine transitory solutions towards a future growth of electric car sharing (and related environmental and urban benefits), exploiting the opportunity provided by Milan’s many underground public and private parking lots.