Creating a shared service system for parking spots

How can we enable parking spot owners to rent out their spots while away at work, school, and more?

Company

UNSW Parkling Coalition

Timeline

2 months

Role

Visual Designer, Industrial Designer

Outcome

Developed an app-enabled, short-term parking system to utilize vacant residential parking spots. This provides drivers with additional parking space and homeowners with additional income. As a result, it reduces CO2 emissions.

Summary

After becoming Cradle to Cradle Certified for designing for a circular economy, I set out to rethink the way drivers search for parking near residential areas.

Overview

Prkd is a shared service system that allows property owners in crowded cities to rent out their parking spaces over a short-term schedule. Unlike semester or month-long parking space rentals, the Prkd system enables short-term sharing while property owners are away at work, school, and more. The Prkd system is comprised of a mobile app that allows property owners to register their space, city-based Prkd employees to faciliate barrier installation, and drivers to find a parking space that suits their desired location and length of stay.

The problem

37%

of greenhouse gas emissions in the US are a result of transportation

35%

more CO2 is emitted due to "cold starts" caused by drivers circling neighborhoods in search of parking

30%

of traffic congestions are the result of drivers searching for a parking spot

Market research

Objectives

The innovation behind Prkd’s sharing system is rooted in the use of a sustainable, user-friendly, and attention- grabbing parking barrier that ensures property owners are compensated while also acting as an extension of Prkd’s marketing. Since the barrier is electronic, drivers can say goodbye to the days of exiting their car to manually unlock barrierswith a key.