Sensory Overload in Public Transportation : Towards Accessible Mobility
Juutilainen, Tinja (2023)
2023
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-12-20
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2023121110697
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-2023121110697
Tiivistelmä
Accessible public transportation is important for equality. However, sensory overload causes barriers and challenges for people living with sensory overload. The triggers to cause sensory overload can be, for example, noise, lights, overcrowding, heat, and visual input. All these triggers are present in public transportation, making it a challenging environment for passengers experiencing sensory overload. In addition, the same triggers can cause discomfort for other people.
Sensory overload as an experience can cause stress, anxiety, panic, withdrawal, and impaired concentration. Symptoms cause a threat to well-being and health, and it has an impact on life quality. However, people use different coping strategies and digital tools to prevent sensory overload. In the future developing different solutions may help people manage symptoms and add quality for other users. Therefore, there is a need to define design drivers that can be used as a basis for design in both the built and digital environment. This thesis focuses on the phenomenon, and how it affects citizens’ accessibility of different transportation services, and the development of design drivers for future development. The material is gathered from seven participants living with sensory overload through semi-structured interviews and travel-along methods in public transport.
Sensory overload as an experience can cause stress, anxiety, panic, withdrawal, and impaired concentration. Symptoms cause a threat to well-being and health, and it has an impact on life quality. However, people use different coping strategies and digital tools to prevent sensory overload. In the future developing different solutions may help people manage symptoms and add quality for other users. Therefore, there is a need to define design drivers that can be used as a basis for design in both the built and digital environment. This thesis focuses on the phenomenon, and how it affects citizens’ accessibility of different transportation services, and the development of design drivers for future development. The material is gathered from seven participants living with sensory overload through semi-structured interviews and travel-along methods in public transport.