Analyzing Social Impact Evaluation Tools Applied to Design Thinking: A Proposal for Improving User Experience in Urban Spaces Through Social Innovation

Abstract

The digital and social transformation we are facing affects also the urban spaces by redirecting the attention and the efforts of different stakeholders towards a renewed interest for the human aspect of the city and for behaviors more aware of their possible impacts at a systemic level on society and environment. The human-centered design approach and the design thinking provide specific tools and methodologies which allow to consider the ‘human’ point of view during the different stages of the design process. However, some limitations arise: in details, most of these methodologies do not take into adequate consideration the social, environmental and economic impact of the designed solutions. For this reason, the research on design should identify the most suitable tools for measuring and assessing the impact of the project during and after its implementation, in order to find solutions really desirable from the social point of view, feasible from the organizational and technical perspective and economically viable. This contribution intends to discuss these issues by suggesting an increasing use of social impact evaluation tools in the design frameworks for urban environment.