Students will launch the Chicago River stormwater project, observe how pollutants move in runoff, identify who is affected, and draft the first problem-framing artifacts that will guide later research and design work.

Students will analyze Chicago stormwater evidence, investigate how material structure affects pollutant behavior, compare natural and synthetic materials, define an evidence-based problem focus, and develop an initial solution direction grounded in data, user needs, and feedback.

Students will turn their research on Chicago River stormwater pollution into evidence-based solution concepts, build and revise a prototype or service idea, and document how scientific reasoning, user needs, and feedback shaped their design choices.

Students will implement and test their Chicago River stormwater solution, collect evidence from runoff trials and user feedback, and analyze whether their prototype or service concept reduces pollution in a realistic neighborhood context.

Students will synthesize their stormwater pollution learning, prototype testing evidence, and community-oriented design work into a concise reflection that explains how their thinking and skills changed across the project and what action they would take next for a Chicago River neighborhood.