The Wayfinding in Ithaca Project is a redesign of the wayfinding system of the downtown area in Ithaca, NY with the goal of setting the standard of sustainability for busy downtowns across the United States. The project included an analysis of the accessibility, mobility, visibility, business environment, visitors, and demographics of downtown Ithaca through empathy field work and modeling, design requirements, ideation, and concept testing. The final design plan included physical, digital, and whimsical interventions and contextualized the wayfinding system through experiential mapping. The findings were presented to stakeholders from the City of Ithaca division for Economic Development, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce, and the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Design Thinking for Complex Systems (SYSEN 5740) was lead by an interdisciplinary team of students from Design & Environmental Analysis, Information Science, Engineering, and Regional Planning. The project was completed in coordination with the CUSD Sustainable Mobility MEng group to ensure future development and possible implementation of the ideated solutions.