Project Waller Creek
Reimaging the area around Waller Creek to enhance the student experience at the University of Texas.
MY ROLE
UX Design
TIMELINE
January-June 2019
15 weeks
TEAM
Madeline Goulet, Kate Hodges, Grace Kim, Hannah Kwan, Lindsey Thompson, & Annie Xue
Our amazing mentors: Gray Garmon & Brooke Protzmann
BACKGROUND
Waller Creek
Waller Creek is the only natural body of water on the University of Texas campus. Despite its natural beauty and uniqueness, the university has often treated Waller Creek as something to be “dealt with.”
From the student perspective, the creek is overlooked and ignored because of the uneven paths, overgrown greenery, and polluted environment. This has not always been the case.
The Battle of Waller Creek, 1969.
A rich history of advocacy
In 1969, there was a notorious student protest at the University of Texas known as the Battle of Waller Creek. The students were protesting the removal of 39 centuries-old live oak trees to make room for the expansion of the Darrell K. Royal football stadium.
Students from many disciplines at the university advocated for Waller Creek and combined their talents in an attempt to save the trees and halt the stadium expansion. The news of the Battle of Waller Creek made headlines all around the nation and the globe.
Overgrown and overlooked
However, today, Waller Creek is largely overlooked and neglected. As a new wave of interdisciplinary students at the University of Texas, we want to bring a student's attention, pride, and advocacy back to the creek.
Waller Creek (2019)
THE CHALLENGE
How might we improve the area around Waller Creek to enhance the student experience at the University of Texas?
PROJECT SCOPE
Focusing on the hustle and bustle of the creek.
For the scope of our project, we focused on the section of Waller Creek that runs through campus from 23rd Street to 25th Street. We focused our efforts on the area with the highest student traffic on campus for concepting and testing.
Illustration by Annie Xue.
Interviewing a creek expert.
USER INTERVIEWS
Finding the waller creek experts
We identified talked to six experts for more context on how the creek is being used in professional work and hear how they’re providing learning opportunities for students revolving around Waller Creek.
From these expert interviews, we were able to understand how people and educators were currently utilizing the creek, as well as understand and empathize with the deep appreciation and passion these experts had for this overlooked creek.
Interviewing a student at Waller Creek.
Understanding student views of the creek
We also talked to students with a variety of different majors across campus to learn as much as possible about their current attitudes and interactions (if any) with Waller Creek.
We also asked more general questions about student life, their relationship with nature, etc. to also gain a wider understanding of the overall student experience at UT Austin.
EARLY INSIGHTS
Key themes
The benefits of urban nature
This idea was supported by every expert that we interviewed. Some of the benefits of Waller Creek include that it allows a moment of rest with all the busy surroundings of the campus. It allows people to appreciate the beauty in a natural feature that is often overlooked
“[The appeal of the creek is that there is] privacy in the midst of this crazy campus… a moment of quiet escape.” - Kevin Anderson, creek advocate
The stressors of university life
Our second major theme was stressors that students face in college. They do not view Waller Creek as a benefit of urban nature.
“When I came to UT, I realized how competitive it really is and I lost all drive. I always talk to my friends about how stressful college is when it really isn't supposed to be.” - Farheen, a business student
Unfulfilled student needs on campus
There is a lack of necessary relaxation spaces on campus, given that students are experiencing stressors of college. We affirmed a need for more intentional spaces for students to relax and take mental breaks from both experts and students.
“I don’t have a favorite place to relax on campus, but if I had to choose it would be looking out of a window in McCombs.” - Allie, a business student
USER RESEARCH
Digging deeper into the student experience
From the themes that came out of our research, we wanted to hear from more students to get a deeper understanding of the student experience.
To get more voices about the student perspective, we set up an opinion board around busy parts of campus and asked students to answer with sticky notes. Our opinion board asked questions such as “What do you do when you have free time on campus” to “What do you think of when you remember your time at UT?”
We received over 500 individual responses from students about their feelings and experiences in college.
Students participating in our opinion board
THE RESULTS
The need for better mental well-being on campus
When we went over the responses, we noticed that students don’t interact much with nature on campus, and were startled by the number of responses that expressed negative well-being such as high levels of stress and loneliness. With further research, we discovered the need for better mental well-being on campus.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Digging deeper into the mental health needs of students
We found ourselves needing to better understand student mental health on college campuses. We utilized UT’s Counseling and Mental health Center as well as research papers on the topic.
The demand for counseling and mental services has increased 77% over the last 8 years.
In an article by our student newspaper last month, the Counseling and Mental Health Center at UT notes an increased demand for their services due to students experiencing anxiety and stress at an all-time high.
42% of [students] felt so overwhelmed that it was difficult to function, making it hard to succeed academically.
In a 2017 survey by the American College Health Association, students reported that anxiety and stress negatively affect their academic performance.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
A positive correlation between nature and wellbeing
While we found from our research on the increase of stress on students, we also found an overwhelmingly positive correlation between nature and wellbeing.
The World Health Organization reports that “Green spaces are important to mental health”. ‘Green space’, including urban parks and street greenery, benefit mental wellbeing by improving mood and concentration while decreasing stress and anxiety.
If even small interactions with nature like noticing a dandelion in a crack in the sidewalk or a tree at a bus stop promotes positive wellbeing, then how might we utilize Waller Creek as UT’s largest natural resource to improve student wellness?
ANALYSIS
Insights
Through our research from experts, students, and secondary sources, we created 3 insights that summarized our research findings. We referred back to these insights frequently during our ideation stage to make sure our solutions were backed up by our research.
INSIGHT 1
Students are exposed to high levels of stress, and spending time in nature benefits mental wellness in a proactive way.
INSIGHT 2
Nature provides convenient moments of relief in urban settings.
INSIGHT 3
UT students exhibit a need for a rejuvenating space. Some students require only a moment of delight, while others desire a more immersive experience.
ARCHETYPE MAPPING
A reason to care
In addition to in-depth interviews from students, we also intercepted students around campus and asked them questions about the creek. To summarize our findings, we created an archetype map based on students’ attitudes and awareness of the creek. By laying out our findings, we started to notice some clear trends appear.
Most students fell into the “neutral” category. However, we found that once we took students down to the creek, they were automatically optimistic about the creek’s potential. Even the “unfamiliar” and the “unopinionated” students started to imagine the possibilities of the space.
The students of the 60s were creek advocates. Maybe the difference between them and the apathetic students of today, is that they lack a reason to care.
PERSONAS
Targeting the “neutral” students
Students like Paul and Haley are our target users. We want to help them gain awareness of the creek by showing them it’s something that can benefit them.
Passerby Paul is an accounting junior who spends most of his time in McCombs. He parks in the San Jacinto garage, which is near the creek. He walks over the creek every day on his way to and from class, but he doesn’t even know it’s there. Paul is the "Unfamiliar,” completely unaware and therefore neutral about Waller Creek.
Hang-Out Haley is a studio art freshman who spends a lot of time on campus, in her dorm, or in class. She knows the creek is near the art building, so she sees it every day, but it doesn’t look welcoming to her. Haley is the "Unopinionated,” aware of the creek, but neutral about it.
REFRAMING THE PROBLEM
How might we utilize Waller Creek, as UT’s largest natural resource, to improve overall student wellness?
IDEATION
Reimagining a better student experience at Waller Creek
Once we felt like we were headed in the right direction our team started iterating ideas. Our mantra was “no bad ideas” as we wanted to go wide before we narrowed it down. Once we felt like we had gotten all our ideas out there, we shared and organized similar ideas. Through discussion, it also helped spark some additional ideas, and eventually, we narrowed down our 3 best concepts to prototype.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Guiding principles for the future
Through our research, we found many consistencies with both students and experts. We wanted to solidify these motifs and create a set of design principles to stick to while finalizing our proposal.
With these in mind, we wanted to suggest three big concepts for the future of the spaces surrounding Waller Creek.
The Outcome
We believe UT can be at the forefront of this nature and mental wellness movement as it continues to grow.
We wanted to create an area on campus where students can conveniently enjoy the benefits of Waller Creek, the largest natural resource surrounding UT students.
We proposed 3 outdoor spaces, each with a specific goal for the unique needs of the students at the University of Texas.
The Oasis
- A hidden gem of sights, smells, and sounds
POSSIBILITIES
Windchimes
Outdoor instruments
Community gardening
Fragrant fauna
EVIDENCE
Our prototype suggests that our gardening activity lent the most interaction and positive feedback from students. Students would come back to check on their plants without an informed invitation to do so.
We also found that this kind of habit-building is one of the most impactful ways to benefit mental wellness and create a sense of accomplishment in small ways.
Additionally, in our interactive student perspectives board, many students expressed a longing for community on campus. This space would be an area that fosters a sense of community, where students can interact with each other freely. We hope the garden makes a pleasant conversation starter aside from just being a relaxing amenity.
The Nook
- Like your favorite spot at the library, but outdoors.
POSSIBILITIES
Outlets and desk space
Shade structures
Large tables for gathering
Comfortable seating
EVIDENCE
Students are exposed to high levels of stress during their time at university. However, even while students are working, we can still make their learning and studying environment better by creating a peaceful and comfortable environment outdoors.
Spending time in nature benefits mental wellness in a proactive way, and through our prototypes, we found that students prefer to study outside rather than inside. For the optimal study environment, students expressed the desire for outlets, shade, and comfortable workspaces. We also wanted to make sure we included group workings spaces, again touching on creating a sense of community.
The Perch
- Like your childhood treehouse retreat.
POSSIBILITIES
Private meditation
Nature-inspired swing structures
Reflection garden and maze
Peaceful art
EVIDENCE
UT students exhibit a need for a rejuvenating space – some require only a moment of delight while others desire a more immersive experience.
At the Perch, students who don’t necessarily have time to spend too much time near the creek can still feel that their day has been improved by just walking past a beautifully curated area. Of course, those who do choose to spend time in it can benefit from private meditation spaces, relaxing swing structures, and a zen-like maze where students can simply escape however they need to.
Conclusion
All three of these spaces call back to our insights and benefit both those who want to spend more time in nature as well as those who simply pass by. Students are exposed to high levels of stress, and spending time in nature benefits mental wellness in a proactive way. This is especially needed in today’s increasingly urban settings at the University of Texas.
These spaces are not mutually exclusive, nor meant to be used as blueprints. They are simply guiding ideas that speak to what we’ve discovered students want and need on campus.
At the end of the day, Waller Creek has long missed student attention. Our solution fully uses this beautiful natural resource to provide for students, while also helping students engage and bring awareness to the creek.
Team (L to R): Brooks Protzmann (Mentor), Madeline Goulet, Caroline Rock, Hannah Kwan, Me, Kate Hodges, Grace Kim, Annie Xue, Gray Garmon (Mentor)