Closing the Loop: A Community Survey on Businesses and Individuals

This survey was sent to 179 businesses and 1,820 individuals on NDC's mailing list. We received 25+ responses but many of them ended up being unfinished. Ultimately, this data was synthesized from 6 businesses and 9 individuals.

The goal of this survey was to discover unmet needs or wants that people have in their community. We also aimed to uncover recycling practices although that was not covered in this specific infographic. By asking separate but similar questions to individuals and businesses, we wanted to see if they held the same opinions on sustainability.

For my infographic, I wanted to compare and contrast business needs with individual needs. It was interesting to discover that they generally both wanted more trash management, connection with nature, and art. Perhaps this is something my project could target: how can we use design to create a system that addresses these desires and promotes circularity?

There were some differences, though. Individuals lean more towards safety while businesses lean more towards signage. Would providing clearer/more signs make individuals feel more safe? Who knows.

Lastly, I wanted to visualize businesses and their excess materials. My aim was that this could provide an opportunity for businesses to give back to their community by setting up a system of donations or by repurposing the materials into something useful.