Tyler Spitzer-Wu


// University of Michigan
// B.S. Urban Technology
// Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
// Minors in Computer Science and Real Estate Development
// Class of 2027

I am fascinated with the use of technology within the processes and systems of the built environment to improve efficiency and delight in development and user experience. Cities are centers of innovation, culture, and economy with unparalleled vitality; I am interested in how scalable products and efficient services can be deployed in them to maximally respond to the needs of a city’s users. I aspire to deploy my programming skills, design intuition, and entrepreneurial approach to positively impact cities in product, design, and technology roles.


Product Intern
    Cedar (AI + architecture startup)
    Summer 2025

VP External Affairs, Co-Founder
    URB Consulting
    Oct 2024 - Present

Design Intern
    Fletcher Studio Landscape Arch. + Urban Design
    Oct 2023 - Dec 2023





tylersw@umich.edu
Résumé
LinkedIn

Detour Management Patterns

UT 230: Design and Urban Inquiries
FEB 2025


// Felt, RAWGraphs, Figma
// field data collection, mapping, data visualization
This project was a deep dive on the detour management systems present in Ann Arbor. Like a lot of college towns, it feels like there’s always some type of construction project going on, which inevitably means that detours and re-routes are common. I analyzed how the city approaches detour management and how the public is intended to interface with detour systems.

The first step was collecting data; this meant braving the winter weather and documenting instances of detour management artifacts (mainly cones and signage) in a geofenced area (shown above).


For each object, I observed its type, size, messaging type, and color. I also observed the context and the intangible aspects of each, such as its purpose, intended audience, and the cause of the detour it was associated with. In my second round of data collection, I took note of the traffic levels outside the construction zones. I also observed each item’s “perceived usefulness,” which was a metric that considered the object’s locational placement, whether or not it was with other detour objects, and its proximity to a hazard or construction site. These properties helped me categorize these detour objects and create a structure within which I could analyze the entire system.

My three main findings:

(1) Messaging Type Correlates With Intended Audience


I discovered that detour objects with textual messaging are primarily for people in vehicles, while objects with any graphic messaging are primarily for pedestrians. This was mainly seen around construction zones, with vehicle signage alerting drivers of “ROAD WORK AHEAD” and pedestrian signage containing icons and arrows directing them around closed sidewalks. This pattern creates the question of whether one type of messaging is genuinely more effective for a certain audience. What happens when a driver whose first language isn’t English approaches a construction zone? Does the type of messaging really matter? Is the color of a sign more important than the messaging?

(2) The University Is Less Thoughtful About Detour Objects


All of the detour objects on the university domain received a perceived usefulness score below 3. These objects were scattered around with no apparent purpose, possibly left behind by previous construction work. Meanwhile, detour objects downtown and in and around construction zones generally scored higher. These objects had a legitimate reason to be where they were, such as an adjacent construction zone or a genuine hazard. This raises questions about why the university seems to be less strategic about detour object placement, along with why construction companies seem to be better at placement strategy. Perhaps this is a difference of a public and private entities, or a result of the university being too large to keep track of every cone on campus.

(3) Objects With Messaging Are More Useful


Objects with any type of messaging were more useful than objects without messaging. Oftentimes, objects without messaging (cones and barriers), seemed to be un-strategically placed or had a high concentration in one specific place. Perhaps because the object does not have an explicit purpose specified by messaging, the placers or creators of the object feel a need to overpopulate an area with them to ensure the intended message is delivered. However, this renders each individual object less useful and could create feelings of clutter and unnecessary anxiety. Meanwhile, objects with messaging have a clear purpose to the placer of the object, and can stand individually without issue. This difference can be generalized as a result of specialization versus generalization.



So why does all this matter? I argue that the excessive presence of detour management objects leads to a negative impact on public safety because residents become desensitized to them. At what point are there so many objects that one does not notice their presence? This question is especially prevalent in Ann Arbor considering the high frequency of construction projects in the city. In spaces like construction zones, it does makes sense to err on the side of safety and over-placement when arranging detour objects. However, outside of these zones, there is no reason to be placing detour objects without genuine thought about their necessity. It could be dangerous if a culture is created where people ignore cones and signs and barriers because they see too many of them everyday without an apparent purpose. Furthermore, regardless of their effect on the public psyche, high amounts of detour objects create unnecessary clutter and anxiety for people navigating the urban landscape.

This project was a super interesting deep dive on an urban system I don’t normally pay attention to. To craft cities and spaces truly optimized for the positive experience of their residents, cities need to be more intentional about these systems.

This project inspired another project I did, where I created a frictionless public reporting system that allows residents to alert their municipal government of city issues through a simple text message, which is then processed by AI to rank the urgency and assign it to the appropriate department. Check out that project here!