Tippelzone in Eindhoven - legalised street prostitution area Eindhoven heat map by perception of citizens. Conducting interviews with questionnairs and perception cards. Ideas and issue discussion workshop with Sara from T-huis. Cultural Probes to get to gain an insight into the women's lives. Group is discussing findings with stakeholders. Birgit Mager explaining the dfference of short- and long term service lines. Photographs of one of the probe packs that were returned. Individual development books to capture progress of the women.

How to create an alternative future for street prostitutes?

Eindhoven's Tippelzone

Levenskracht

The 'Tippelzone' was a legalised street prostitution strip in Eindhoven, Netherlands. In 2008 the city council invited a service design group of KISD students to create concepts to enable new perspectives for these women to consequently be able to close the Tippelzone in 2011. (read the original brief)

Our approach was to initially observe the current practices at the Tippelzone and conduct interviews with the prostitutes, social workers and volunteers supporting the women mentally and physically. This helped us gain an understanding of the issues and perceived shortcomings of the current situation. It became apparent that the existing setting is too rigid, providing no incentives for the prostitutes to undergo detoxification and insufficient cooperation between the supporting social services to help these women holistically. It needed a system approach and a change in attitude of all the stakeholders involved.

Our design solution is an innovative public service called Levenskracht (Dutch for vitality) which is a collaboration between the different supporting social services. It provides basic and extended support lines to gradually give the prostitutes more responsibility for their own lives through providing intensive support, health services, education and motivation. These service lines are co-created with the women involved. This solution was presented at a conference in Eindhoven in 2008 and a solution inspired by it helped to close the Tippelzone in 2011.

Levenskracht yearbook No1

My Role

The group was split into three teams. I was part of the first research team send to Eindhoven, I conducted and documented interviews with stakeholders including: politicians, social workers and citizens.

I documented the findings and passed on contacts to subsequent research teams. I also analysed the current social structure and designed the basic service line touchpoints (below) and was part of the extended project, preparing and structuring the final deliveries including the yearbook and presentation for the conference.

The Levenskracht YearBook Magazine 00 is one of the publications of Service Design Literature

Learning & Process

Probe Packs & Research

Probe packs were given to prostitutes for the design team to learn about their lives and circumstances.

Learning: Probes do not always work. The packs did not take into consideration short attention spans and did not offer immediate benefit for the women to engage with. Only one of them was returned.

A joined shopping trip with selected prostitutes proofed to be a more effective method of engagement and interview opportunity.

Basic service line touchpoints

Touchpoints are used to facilitate and communicate a service. In this case the 'personal development book' creates a record of the women's progress of her through detox and gaining work experience. The women have to pass certain milestones which are achieved and certified through working with partnering organisations. It's a framework for change, rather than a solution.

Presentation

Presented along with another two speakers to a group of fellow students and client representatives at the final internal presentation at one of the so called 'Friday presentations'. Post project I worked with Caren Weisleder on the presentation for Eindhoven City Council structuring the presentation, helping with the English and joined the team to the presentation conference.

Presentation Photos and Slides
Blog Post Eindhoven Conference 27.6.2008

News & Team

Tipple Zone closing March 2011
Dutch article 25.10.10 about limited effect
Exit Program 'Life'

Students: Bak, Johanna | Choi, William | Drinjakovic-Schlichtmann, Alexander | Durrenberger, Alija | Flemm, Niels | Hartzheim, Johanna| Kramer, Fionn Patrick | Lang, Paul | Lau, Ola | Leistenschneider, Anna Katharina | Oluoch, Mathilda | Schmidt-Soltau, Fee | Schmith, Marina | Schnell, Falko | Schwenk, Sylvia | Serfaty, Aviya | Steinebach, Tanja | Wahrisch, Julia | Weisleder, Caren | Wolf, Alexandra | Wonner, Christian

Under the mentoring of Prof. Birgit Mager