TED PRIZE- CITY2.0

http://www.tedcity2.org/awards/lost-in-lahore/

The Problem.
Lahore is city of almost 14 million people, and there is no concrete street navigation available. Major roads do, but neighborhoods are still without street numbers and marking.

The Solution.

A street signage system that used existing street names and markings from KML files on Google Maps, Lahore Development Authority Master Plan (60's era) nomenclature, and visual street signage that could handle the requirements of dense numbering, labelling and bilingual marking.



In 2012, TED granted ten awards of $10,000 to fund local projects likely to spur the creation of the City 2.0. This is basically an attempt at reimagining urban improvement by seed-funding innovative ideas from around the globe. My friends and I devised a simple plan that would address the embarrassing fact that Lahore - my hometown - continues to function in this modern age without a dependable system of street signage.

We had to think about, and do a lot of things people thought we had no experience in. Like picking a font that would accommodate the longest street names possible (in both Urdu and English). Testing full-size cardboard mockups on the streets we planned. Evaluating how even the reflectivity of the background needed to provide readability given the expected road speed of drivers. Font sizes. Sign heights. And then, the municipal/political support to make it happen through adoption.

After the pictures, you can read through the update I sent to the TED foundation last year about our project.