Deepening Design Activism through Preparation, Practice and Proof

David de la Pena Ph.D. University of California Davis
Laura J Lawson Ph.D., Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Michael Rios Ph.D., UC Davis, Davis, CA
Jeffrey Hou PhD, University of Washington, Department of Landscape Architecture, Seattle, WA
Austin Allen Ph.D., DesignJones LLC, New Orleans, LA
Deni Ruggeri Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
Maria-Beatrice Andreucci Ph.D., Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy

Learning Objectives:

• define design activism and understand the wide range of practices across the design professions.
• discuss whether existing pedagogies are adequate to prepare students for careers that include design activism.
• understand the relationships between design firms, professional organizations, and entrepreneurial activism, and suggest ways to bridge between them.
• identify appropriate tools for evaluating activist projects and use them as feedback for evolving training and practice.

Session Abstract:

Environmental designers are emerging from schools with ambitions to tackle both ecological and social dimensions of sustainability. Working with communities, and often against broader structures, activist designers blur the boundaries between research and practice, expert and client. Driven to transform more than project sites, they must be transdisciplinary, participatory, explicit about values, and proactive about justice. While these ambitions are often praised, the full range of practices experienced as design activism is not well explored. If this form of practice is to remain relevant, be legitimized, and thrive, the professions must critically reflect on pedagogy, practices and proof--how activists prepare for, experience, and evaluate their work. This workshop deepens conversations about design activism through sessions by academics, practitioners, and community members. It begins by defining design activism, then explores the themes of pedagogy, practices, and proof. For each session, 2-3 panelists will provoke discussion with a set of questions such as: How are activists trained and mentored? How are they training themselves? What gaps in knowledge and education must be filled? Are there conflicts between educating for activism and meeting accreditation requirements? What professional boundaries must be bridged to practice activism? Are communities co-creating agendas in order to be emancipatory? What are the best tools to assess impact? What strategies ensure the sustainability of projects? How can feedback be used to better prepare for future endeavors? This workshop invites participants from all environmental design professions and encourages sharing across fields. Community collaborators are also invited to participate remotely. This overall discussion builds upon a growing interest in the practice and education of activism, evidenced in recent publications and conference panels across the various environmental design fields. The workshop intends to generate a collective foundation for understanding the state of the art, and for creating feedback loops to improve outcomes.

Pedagogy for Design Activists

Laura J Lawson

Educators within the environmental design professions uphold an obligation to prepare students for real-world practice, and are guided by accreditation boards to craft curricula with that aim in mind. This presentation asks whether existing pedagogies are sufficient to include the broad array of practices that students are pursuing, within and outside of the conventional boundaries of the professions. Within the academy, students are asking for the tools they need to be successful advocates for communities that suffer from environmental and social inequities. Many of these students pursue unconventional practices when they graduate, but they do so with inconsistent training, guidance or mentorship. This presentation asks whether and how professional schools should adapt or augment their pedagogies to better prepare students to be impactful design activists.

Pedagogy for Design Activists

Michael Rios

The embrace of engaged scholarship as a legitimate mode of academic research is helpful for the development of more inclusive, emancipatory and justice-oriented pedagogies. As students gain greater exposure to a diverse set of interdisciplinary, participatory, and reflexive practices, they may also internalize a commitment to practicing design and planning with an ethical focus. This presentation explores the opportunities within this new pedagogical approach, and asks how faculty and students can make the best of them. It also considers whether new structures are necessary to support faculty, students, and community collaborators within this model.

Practices of Design Activism

Jeffrey Hou

As students enter design practice, they adapt to different expectations on their time, competencies, and their professional roles. New opportunities for community engagement may also present themselves within the context of their work and also in their capacity as citizens in their communities. Professional organizations, such as the AIA, ASLA, APA, 1+, and Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility, play important roles in promoting and facilitating activism within firms. Additionally, designers acting on their own are taking more entrepreneurial approaches to use their skills in the advancement of justice. This presentation explores the space between professional practice and design activism, asking whether more bridging or coordination is necessary for more impactful engagement, and what each of the design fields can learn from the others.

Practices of Design Activism

Austin Allen

Activism takes many forms, from community advocacy to community-build projects to political protest. Often times, only the most provocative design approaches stand as representations of all design activism, even though the particular experiences of individuals and community groups may differ. Additionally, struggles for justice can easily take a toll on activists and community members, creating strains on time, on personal relationships, and even on one's safety. This presentation offers an opportunity to explore some of these other dimensions of design activism by soliciting stories from the field of practice.

Evaluating Design Activism

Deni Ruggeri

The performance of participatory design has not been conclusively proven, and the criteria by which success would even be measured are not well established. Tools such as post-occupancy evaluation (POE) provide a starting point for assessment, but there are many more dimensions to design activism that warrant a multi-faceted approach. This presentation outlines the myriad of tools that are available for designers to evaluate the performance of their activist engagement, along with the differing purposes and audiences that evaluation serves. Experiences in Zingonia, Italy, are used to illustrate methods for determining a project's successes and failures, and for using that input to refine future approaches.

Evaluating Design Activism

Maria-Beatrice Andreucci

Evaluation is only useful to the extent that it informs future decisions. If the value of design activism can be adequately demonstrated, the dissemination of its value can be used to leverage its impact. If its deficiencies are identified, the education of future activists can be targeted to better prepare them for challenges, and the techniques of practitioners can be adapted to be more effective and sustainable. This presentation draws together the threads of pedagogy, practice and proof to ask how establishing feedback loops can support the ongoing evolution of design activism.