Still Processing
OBJECTIVE
In 2021, I worked with the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics (MONUM) at the City of Boston. MONUM is the city’s civic research and design team, working across departments and communities to explore, experiment, and evaluate new approaches to government and civic life. As a fellow, I owned and advanced a design project with the city’s Inspectional Services and Environment departments.
TOOLS & SKILLS
Literature Review, User Research, Contextual Inquiry
Systems Mapping, Service Design, Writing & Editing
TEAM & TIMELINE
Nayeli Rodriguez, Kris Carter, Kelly Mackey, Christopher English (Mentors)
June-August 2021
PROBLEM SPACE
How might the permit process be better communicated to the public to reduce uncertainty & complexity while improving residents’ trust & confidence in the existing system?
How might the existing system better incorporate city-wide climate and resiliency goals, ultimately driving impact through construction?
DESIGN PROCESS
Systems Mapping
This leads us to the importance of building permits during the construction process. When residents want to renovate their homes or make additions to their stores or offices, they have to pursue all sorts of permissions through the Inspectional Services Department (ISD) before construction can start.
Yet for infrequent or first-time permit seekers, this process can be overwhelming and demanding. In fact, ISD and other leaders have made several guides, charts, and diagrams to unpack the system for internal stakeholders and the public alike. Furthermore, this system includes very few incentives for sustainable design.
Research & Design Strategy
CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY
I observed the many counters and resources at ISD and perform interviews with climate stakeholders and permit-seekers across Boston.
Qualitative research led to the identification of three major pain points in the permitting system: information consistency, navigation & ease of use, and expectations & feedback.
I also brainstormed different characteristics that should guide the design of our end product, taking cues from existing resources to make something novel yet implementable.
Service Design Solutions
NAVIGATIONAL GUIDE FOR PERMIT TRANSPARENCY
The resulting navigational guide flags the major steps of the process, with crucial details to consider both before and while pursuing a permit. It emphasizes plain language, frequently asked questions, and linking to more extensive web pages when necessary. It also reflects ISD’s move towards digital-first support, which eases implementation down the road.
FLOW CHART FOR FUTURE CLIMATE INTERVENTIONS
By mapping out the current permit process, I was able to flag key moments of the design & construction phases where the city might incentivize climate-ready decisions to permit-seeking residents. Talking to environmental experts and attending community meetings about zoning reviews and heat resiliency informed these recommendations.
What’s next? Garnering more public feedback on these resources.
Beyond this project’s scope, the consensus was that there is ample opportunity for strategic communication before residents even reach the permit-seeking stage. The next challenge is how to identify these resident projects before they get to the ISD website, leveraging cross-department collaboration.
“Cities can make it easier for small businesses, post-COVID, by reducing the number of regulations and by making it simpler to comply with existing ones.”
— Ed Glaeser, “Free the Entrepreneurs” in City Journal