Urban Foresight was commissioned by Hull City Council to design a pilot focussed on smart parking within Hull city centre.

The aim was to use technology to optimise customer experience and create an exemplar smart city project which demonstrates the art of the possible.

Urban Foresight undertook a feasibility study to explore the options available to the council. This included research into current technological solutions, site investigations, user journey analysis and options appraisal.

Central to the design of the pilot was understanding different user journeys, including  visitors to events held at The Bonus Arena, a neighbouring entertainment venue.

Urban Foresight expertise in service design was used to develop a series of personas and user journeys to shape the pilot.

Solution options included developing an App offering integrated ticketing and payments, providing map and route information and promoting the use of parking in conjunction with local shops and restaurants.

From exploring the challenges associated with each stage on the user journeys a set of functional requirements for an app event emerged. The data requirements for the app were then mapped and the data sources identified.

This was supported by close working with Hull’s technology partner, Connexin.

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