PHINCO served as a Case Study for this PhD dissertation by Lindsay Oluyede, PhD, AICP, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. This covered our work on “Regional Transportation” as applied to our 2016-17 engagement with SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation). We introduced SMART, the City of Pontiac, and a range of community organizations, non-profits, Oakland Schools ISD, Pontiac School District, the two major hospitals (McLaren & St. Joe’s) etc. to Design Thinking (see the ERAF diagram).

An Institutional Review Board Approved study PHINCO (Pontiac Holonomy Incubator) was the focus of, which “failed to launch.” This was inspired by our engagement with the Oakland University City of Pontiac Partnership, and their “Experiential Learning” department’s connection to our work with the SMART Community Partnership Program (CPP) cited above & the Global Cities course immersion in downtown Pontiac.