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Velaria : Investigating the Value of Shared Vehicles in Future Megacities

Solving future problems is a part of the masterprogram of transportation design, where thepossibilities and the push are to tackle socialand environmental problems. In this thesis, thedesigner was keen to investigate the value ofshared vehicles in future megacities since thesedense urban areas will face more challenges thantoday with the increased demands in housing,education, health, leisure and transportation.In order to investigate the future problems thatmegacities will face, the designer focuses ona speculative design approach that is used tohelp navigate the scenarios and determine themost applicable one, enabling him to determinethe values of a shared vehicle. The speculativefuture suggested a formation of segregated sub-societies within the city where individuals areforced to share certain mobility services. However,this segregation will have a reverse effect onhow the mobility behaviour of individuals mightchange in avoiding certain mobility services dueto its association with a sub-society other thanthe one they belong to, for example, people withdifferent ethnicity or social classes.Since mobility systems and vehicles areconsidered facilitators of such segregation andsub-societies formation, the solution can beprovided as a shared mobility vehicle. Such avehicle will form a focal interaction between twostrangers sharing the same route. Using ancientarchitectural techniques (the velarium andoculus), the vehicle creates a humble gatheringexperience that crosses economic, social andethnic differences.To achieve such a design, the designer useddifferent techniques in 2D design and 3Dmodelling to push for multiple directions that led to the formation of one concept, Velaria. TheVelaria is an autonomous oval-shaped vehiclewhere the rounded form, the velarium and theoculus at the roof provide an experience ofhumbleness and gathering by introducing thesky and the light as a higher umbrella or domethat brings users from different backgroundstogether. This technique was used in romanbuildings like the Pantheon and the Colosseum,and carried on to modern art and architecture.This project provides a glimpse of the implicationsof current mobility systems regarding theformation of social sustainability. Thereforethe project gives a clear direction of what thefuture values of the vehicle can be and how thevehicle can be the starting point of weaving thesocial fabric to achieve a resilient society thatcan change the future scenario of mobility andsociety in future megacities.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-219918
Date January 2023
CreatorsAl Khamissi, Saif
PublisherUmeå universitet, Designhögskolan vid Umeå universitet
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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