Contents Designing Healthy Communities 4 The Design-thinking Process 6 Empathize 8 Define 10 Ideate 12 Prototype 14 Test 16 Reflect 18 Need for Active Living 20 PROJECT CASE Prolonged Sitting and Screen Time 22 CASE Fitness Programs for Every Body 23 CASE Not Enough Space for Physical Activity at School 25 DESIGN THINKING IN PRACTICE Being More Active 26 Need for Healthy Food 28 PROJECT CASE Access to Food in Local Communities 30 CASE Healthy Snack Options for Diabetic Students 31 CASE Hunger in Nepal 32 DESIGN THINKING IN PRACTICE Accessing Healthy Food 34 Need for Clean Water 36 PROJECT CASE Access to Clean Water at Shoal Lake 40 First Nation 38 CASE The Flint Water Crisis 39 CASE Need for Clean Water in Rwanda 41 DESIGN THINKING IN PRACTICE Accessing Clean Water 42 What’s Next for Designing Healthy Communities 44 Learning More 45 Bibliography 45 Glossary 47 Index 48 About the Author 48
Designing Healthy Communities The Buzz about Design Thinking People are using design thinking to improve lives and solve big problems around the world Students have used design thinking to discover wonderful community solutions For example a design thinker who wants to encourage healthy living might create special exercise programs to get kids active at school Design thinking offers limitless possibilities What Is Design Thinking Design thinking is a step-by-step process that helps designers solve problems It inspires collaboration with others to find solutions and active participation within our communities To participate means to be involved in something Design thinkers actively participate within a community to create solutions At the center of design thinking is empathy which is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others In design thinking we use empathy to understand the user’s specific challenges thoughts and needs Who Is the User The user is the person or the group of people with a problem or need A user could be a middle-school student with diabetes who needs better school lunch options The user could also be a group of people such as the survivors of a hurricane who require access to clean water and food How Design Thinkers Work Through research interviewing and listening to the users design thinkers develop a deep understanding of the users challenges and their needs Empathy is the driving force behind design thinking Guided by empathy design thinkers collaborate with the user to work through steps toward a solution These steps involve trial and error Mistakes are part of the creative process and they often lead to better solutions 4
meet some change makers WE Charity and Clean Water in Communities Craig and Marc Kielburger the founders of WE Charity use empathy to help improve the lives of people in communities around the world They learn about the communities needs then work in partnership with those communities to create long-term solutions In 2010 team members at the WE Charity went to the community of Dos Palais in Haiti to understand the needs of the people there WE team members talked with the community members and asked questions about their needs They learned that the elementary school was old and falling apart The classrooms were leaky and overcrowded and the teachers had few school supplies It was hard for children to learn in these conditions There were also many new students coming to the school after the major earthquake in 2010 destroyed over 4,000 other schools in Haiti making the classrooms even more overcrowded With this understanding WE worked with the community to build a new elementary school for the children of Dos Palais and the others who had come after the earthquake They also equipped or provided the school with supplies The Kielburger brothers attend WE Day events in many cities This special event inspires young people to become change-makers in their community and around the world Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and most Haitians live in extreme poverty In Dos Palais most community members do not have jobs and have no way to earn money To also help solve this problem the WE team hired local workers to build the schools Because the WE team used empathy to understand the different needs of the Dos Palais community they were able to create a solution that could help its many members In Dos Palais each part of the school is painted a different color When students were asked what color they would like to paint the school each grade chose a different color of the rainbow 5
