I was 9 when the Crown Heights Riots happened a few blocks from my elementary school. My belief that people who ultimately occupy a space should take part in determining its intended use and design can be traced to that moment when I discovered that people were willing to die over it.
Architecture, among other STEM fields, is inhibitive to women and people of color. Ironically, the most prominent voices in the fight for justice are women and people of color; crucial and unapologetic voices remain missing. In an industry that caters to wealthy individuals, a social justice approach requires addressing inequities in land distribution, access to capital, and zoning laws. J. Max Bond Jr., Phil Freelon, Curtis Moody, FAIA, Sharon Egretta Sutton, FAIA, Jack Travis, FAIA, and Roberta Washington, FAIA, among others, have bridged divides in class, gender, and race. They have created a blueprint for social justice architecture.
In the private sector, architects primarily work for upper-class communities. We are told to cater to the client, who is seldom poor, young, or of color. For these reasons, though my early clients were high net-worth individuals and developers with easy access to capital—and lots of it—I have since started a practice that seeks clients who are active community members and who see their home, business, or institution as an opportunity to engage others.
Rooftop access allows me to witness the evolution of my Bed-Stuy community in Brooklyn, N.Y. The disparity in median household incomes between new and long-term residents is already wide ($50,200 versus $28,000, respectively, according to 2015 city data). Increasingly, I have seen one modern horizontal fence after another pop up, enclosing the backyards of homes around me. These 6-foot-barriers may reflect the residents’ customs in their prior neighborhoods, or their desire for status or a sense of security—or they could simply be the result of a wildly successful word-of-mouth recommendation for a contractor.
Nevertheless, I wonder if my new, fenced-in neighbors ever considered the community impact of their decisions. In a COVID-19 world, these fences create additional barriers. Chance encounters to socialize with your neighbors—to discuss the soil you intend to use to grow basil or to take joy in sharing the overflow of homegrown tomatoes—become even rarer. We will miss our children growing up playing in the backyard.
The responsibility to consider the impact of design decisions on the larger community falls for now on those with means, who dictate how our spaces are designed. They become accountable for the collective experience. Reconsidering the height of your fence, or even the decision to erect one, is exactly the kind of thing that has a lasting impact on the health and vitality of a community—and it is within the control and consciousness of each homeowner, contractor, and architect.
Architects have a unique opportunity to design spaces that facilitate trade, scholarship, culture, and exposure close to home. In the same ways that you ask “Does this form follow function?” or “How will this be experienced in section?,” how might you use your position to design a more equitable and inclusive community, city, and world?
Robert Moses built to protect and preserve a class of people. Highways, causeways, parks, bridges, and streets honor him. In 2020, we understand the long-term effects of his and many others’ racist urban planning practices. We have heard the global charge to end white supremacy. In 2021 and beyond, for every Robert Moses Park and Causeway, we should have a Jumaane Stewart Way, Beverly Greene Parkway, Julian Abele Boulevard, and Richard Franklin, AIA, Causeway. The future of design and the built environment will be for those committed to all communities thriving.
#ArrestTheOfficersWhoKilledBreonnaTaylor
The views and conclusions from this author are not necessarily those of ARCHITECT magazine or of The American Institute of Architects.
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