Parkly

Project Introduction

November 20, 2024

Meet the team

Adam Sandell (adamfosandell@gmail.com)
Alex Tilly Morina (alex.s.tilly@outlook.com)
Marina Radic (radic.marina91@gmail.com)
Hampus Persson (persson.hampus98@gmail.com)
Louisian Boltner (louisianboltner@gmail.com)
Hong Quan Odin (hongquanodin@icloud.com)

Our project idea, Parkly, is based on the principle of making "miljöparkering" (environmental parking) information as accessible as possible. This can be done through either a stand-alone app, or an implementation of our research and further development into an already existing platform. The development of Parkly ties directly into interaction design by focusing on usability, accessibility, and real-time user interaction. Our interviews highlighted the need for intuitive interfaces that present related data in a user-friendly manner. Our path to discovering the case was as follows:

Realized an existing current issue in the availability of visualized information regarding the environmental parking in Malmö.
Conducted interviews in the form of open-ended questions via Google Forms, with a wide variety of candidates currently living in the Malmö area who are likely to be affected by this issue.

Related market products

EasyPark: EasyPark is a widely used parking application that provides users with real-time parking information. However, it lacks an explicit focus on environmental considerations, which sets Parkly apart. Our app aims to f.eg. incorporate updates, where the user is notified whenever the area they're currently in has an active environmental parking timeframe.
Parkopedia: Parkopedia offers detailed parking space databases worldwide, including availability and pricing. While it excels at providing general parking insights, Parkly will focus on environmental metrics and Malmö-specific environmental parking zones, filling a gap in the current market.

To elaborate further, applications and resources such as these two are excellent for making the process of finding available parking spots easier and alleviate most of, if not all, stress that comes with this. Parking availability is not a static variable and restrictions are thereby f.eg. tied to environmental considerations. These nuances can make parking decisions more challenging, which is what Parkly aims to address. As mentioned in the introduction, this can be done several ways, either through a stand-alone app or an already existing platform.

Our idea, conceptualized in research publications

Michael Johansson states in his article [¹] that smart technologies can be used to optimize the parking-efficiency and decrease the time spent physically looking for available parking-spots. An example of these kinds of technologies can be an app that shows a real-time display on when and where one should park with the environment in mind, a.k.a. the concept of "miljöparkering" in this context.

Furthermore, in a paper by Markendahl et al. [²] it is argued that the integration of shared data in smart parking systems has the opportunity to significantly enhance societal benefits; a system actively using this technology would see reduced traffic congestion, pollution as well as limit the time it takes to look for available parking-spots. Additionally, the research presented highlights that apps leveraging such data can guide users to eco-friendly parking choices [²], with this, environmental parking. E.g. using digital services to manage parking facilities for better usage of existing spaces, and other beneficial aspects.

These two articles strongly enforce our belief in a need for an app such as Parkly to be readily available for anyone who should feel the need to use it. We think its presence will have a positive impact on the societal structure, as well as eliminate a vast amount of current issues caused by the unknowing variables that are to be taken into consideration when dealing with environmental parking.

References

[¹] M. Johansson, Parkering för den hållbara staden - Om lokala effekter i den offentliga miljön, Institutionen för tjänstevetenskap, Lunds universitet, 2024.
[²] J. Markendahl et al., Analysis of Use of Shared Data for Smart Parking Services in Sweden, 2022.