A Black architect calls on designers to recommit their training and expertise to account for the health and safety of all, especially those who have been most harmed by the status quo of the built environment.
Multiple public health crises are disproportionately killing Black Americans—police brutality has been at the forefront of the public discussion for several weeks, but the disparate effects of the coronavirus are lingering in the background, killing thousands in this country every day.
The disproportionate health effects of COVID-19 on Black Americans is connected to the work of architects, according to Kimberly Dowdell, an architect who writes thusly in a guest column for Fast Company: "This isn’t just a public health problem; it’s a design problem."
Dowdell, who is the president of the National Organization of Minority Architects, calls on architects not only to acknowledge their role in designing the spaces and places that are killing Black Americans in greater numbers during the pandemic. "When it comes to addressing how to safeguard all communities from future health crises, architects bring a myriad of skills to the table," according to Dowdell. Those skills include interdisciplinary expertise, best practices for public health, and a diversity of perspectives.
"We must pledge ourselves to truly design for life," writes Dowdell to conclude.
Read the full story: Racism is built into U.S. cities. Here’s how architects can fight back
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The Shifting Demographics of Covid-19
For most of the Covid-19 pandemic, Black Americans died at much higher rates than White Americans. That trend has reversed at times during the past year.
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New research from the Brookings Institution illuminates the racial disparities of public health outcomes both during and before the pandemic.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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Judges permit Denver to divert 77,000 acre feet from the Colorado River for reservoir expansion
Overuse and climate change have caused the Colorado River’s water levels to plummet.
NYC DOT wants faster, more permanent street upgrades
The city is examining ways to build more concrete infrastructure without getting entangled in 'decades-long' projects.
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Trump to overrule local leaders, lease millions of acres of America’s Pacific Island territories’ seafloors to mining companies
International law says that the Indigenous people of America’s territories have a right to prior and informed consent regarding projects that impact their countries.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
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Harvard University Graduate School of Design
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello