Ela Yeetona

Έλα Γείτονα - Ela Yeetona

Ela Yeetona is a service design project with social innovation.

If you want to buy something but:

-you can’t leave the house

-you are tired of searching for a parking spot

-you do not want to spend money on gas

Then use the service of “Ela yeetona”!

You can: -pick up things for your neighbor on your way home

-ask your neighbor to bring you something

-get to know your neighbors

-help to reduce traffic

-save time

-get sales

-protect the environment

Ela Yeetona, «Hello Neighbor», an alternative way of everyday shopping

Context: The problem of the traffic congestion in the center of the town of Hermoupolis in Syros, Greece due to the large number of residents that drive for everyday grocery shopping.

The project: A service that proposes an alternative way of everyday shopping based on the mutual help of neighbors. By promoting a platform that allows neighbors to offer to deliver their neighbor’s groceries or ask a delivery from them, “Ela Yeetona” aims to solve the traffic congestion and bring neighbors closer.

The design process: The team used a user centered approach (interviews, questionnaires, prototypes of shopping tests with the platform’s wireframes) within the duration of an academic semester to detect the problematic space of the neighborhood and find a suitable proposal.

Governance and Policy Making:

--- traffic management, decrease of car use ---

The aim of the service is to decrease the number of cars in the town’s center. This can have a positive effect of the town’s organization and planning in the aspects of car use and traffic management.

Activism and Civic Participation:

--- social innovation ---

“Ela Yeetona” was co-designed by the team and the local residents. The service is a form of social innovation that has come up from the needs of the local people to help them form a part of a solution that can change their way of being. The service is managed by the community.

Social Interactions and Relations:

--- mutual offering of local residents, bringing people closer ---

The project is based on the mutual offering of delivery between neighbors. There can be no service without the participation of the individuals. Its aim is to form a mentality of collectivity and social awareness that can be applied to any other aspect of everyday life to bring people closer together.

City and Environmental Planning:

--- transportation, environment ---

The decrease of cars that the project tries to support not only has a positive environmental impact (less carbon dioxide emissions and less energy consumed), it also helps the organization of the town’s planning (less traffic means more urban areas that can be used for other purposes).

Production, Distribution and Consumption

--- local collaborations, access to resources ---

The project’s collaboration with local grocery stores supports local production. The delivery of goods between neighbors helps people have access to what they need when they need it in order to avoid over consumption. Mutual delivery offers prevent the unnecessary waste of resources.

Skill Training and Design Education

--- co - design, feedback, design tools ---

The project is based on co design between the team’s members and the local community. Service design tools and methodologies for development and visualisation were used in the making process of the service. The target group’s feedback was the basic element of the process.

Job Creation

--- design, programming ---

Other than the team of designers, programmers for the development and support of the platform will be needed for the realization of the project before its actual launch to the community.

Storytelling and Visualisation

--- design tools, ideas sharing ---

Tools for visualization and storytelling were used to help the team express their thoughts and to communicate their ideas to the community. Layouts, posters, storyboards, platform wireframes and videos were created to present the project.

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