Architect's Role in Creating Equitable Communities

From enslavement and denial of human rights and dignity to broken promises of 40 acres and a mule, Jim Crow laws and other mechanisms have been used to steal wealth, land, and opportunity through restrictive covenants, destructive highways, and federal mortgage policies that restricted Blacks, Jews,

and others in support of “homogeneous [white] neighborhoods.” Slum clearance and other tools, including forced removal, predatory mortgages, credit scores, forced displacement, disinvestment, and gentrification, among others, have been instituted to deny Black Americans opportunities for adequate wages, access to necessary goods and services, and proximity to high-paying jobs.

“[Architects] share the responsibility for the mess we are in ... this didn’t just happen. We didn’t just suddenly get in this situation. It was carefully planned.”—Whitney M. Young Jr.

The building parameters and outcomes of this system have long benefited the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry which, as such, has both directly and indirectly contributed to the creation and prolonged dominance of racist policies to protect its interests.

Even as the policies are retired, the effects remain.

• Black homeowners are nearly five times more likely to own in a formerly redlined neighborhood than in a greenlined neighborhood, resulting in diminished home equity and overall economic inequality for Black families.
• Redlined neighborhoods identified by federal officials as “risky investments” in the 1930s are today some of the hottest parts of Richmond, Virginia. In these places, there are few trees and a great deal of paved surface.
• Studies show that green spaces in urban areas are larger and more easily accessed in white neighborhoods. This leads to varying levels of heat exposure and disparate abilities to benefit from the physical and mental health benefits of green space.
• Lior Jacob Strahilevitz notes the role “exclusionary amenities” such as polo grounds, golf courses, and tennis courts, play in deterring unwanted potential residents from seeking out ownership in specific communities or developments.
• Homeownership is an often-cited way to build wealth in the United States. Black Americans do not have the same access to property ownership and wealth-building opportunities.

Building wealth

Fundamentally, equitable designs are built through equitable process. By shedding light on the structure and results of inequitable decisions, architects are better able to understand the context in which their projects exist and the possible implications their choices have. Additionally, an understanding of the history—social, political, and economic—of the projects you work on is foundational for achieving equitable outcomes. Without such a perspective, intervening can unintentionally cause harm. The following sections outline actions that can be taken within and outside of projects in support of equitable communities. Information in the Foundations section introduces the “why” of equitable development and the inequities that exist in the built environment.

Our spaces and places have been designed and continue to develop in ways that further divide people and lead to increased disparities in health (physical and mental), economics, education, and social mobility. New methods and practices are often considered “risky.” Architects need to understand the risks associated with not changing traditional architectural design practices and development processes.

Resilience strategy identifies the dual threats of shocks, “acute, sudden, sharp events that threaten a community, such as earthquakes, floods, disease outbreaks, and terrorist attacks” and stresses, “chronic, slow-moving disasters that weaken the fabric of a community and its ability to handle shocks, such as high unemployment, overtaxed or inefficient public transportation system, endemic violence, chronic food and water shortages, and systemic racism.”

"Risk drives everything. However, there is a lack of understanding that by not addressing equity, not looking beyond the project footprint upstream and downstream, we are opening ourselves up to more risk."
—Rachel Bannon-Godfrey, AIA

Equitable development seeks to address systemic disparities in the built environment. Learning more about existing inequities and their impacts on people increases an architect’s ability to consider and mitigate these factors through design. Perpetuating conventional design and development practices will continue to fail many neighborhood residents. Advocacy is needed at a policy level to make changes in how development happens. Architects have an ability to effect change, project by project, and work for more just places and spaces.

This resource, meant to provide clarity and shared understanding, explores the power architects possess to drive equitable communities. Unless otherwise noted, definitions are from the glossary in AIA’s Equitable Development Frameworks: An Introduction and Comparison for Architects. For a more complete discussion of language, please see the glossary from the Guides for Equitable Practice.

Agency

Enabling the confidence, rights, and status of individuals or groups to act on behalf of their own interests.—the Just City index

Belonging

To feel accepted and comfortable in a setting despite age, gender, race, sexuality, or income.—the Just City index

Community

“Community” has a broad scope: not only neighborhoods but any group that occupies or experiences a project, from a family to an entire city and beyond. Community includes the people (and organizations) that live, work, learn, worship, shop, and play in a project’s area of impact.—AIA glossary for the guides for equitable practice

Community engagement

The AIA guides for equitable practice glossary suggest that architects can engage with communities in three major capacities: as individual citizens, as professionals, and in the type of work their firms choose to do. Whichever the capacity, effective community engagement incorporates diverse voices equitably, respectfully, and authentically in all phases of work, with special attention given to context, including such elements as history, culture, politics, power dynamics, and social fabric.—AIA glossary for the guides for equitable practice

Culture

Culture refers to the shared values, rituals, stories, language, and rules of a social group. Some cultural aspects are visible or explicit (e.g., fashion, language, food), while other aspects are unseen or implicit (e.g., attitudes, gender roles, approach to work-life integration).—AIA glossary for the guides for equitable practice

Development

The design and construction of communities with a mixture of uses—residential, commercial, and cultural—on land that is currently uninhabited. It can also include the re-creation of urban, suburban, and rural communities through renovation and new construction.—21st century development framework

The process of converting land to a new purpose by constructing buildings or making use of its resources.—the Oxford English Dictionary

Diversity

A mix of people with a wide range of visible and invisible personal and group characteristics, backgrounds, experiences, and preferences.—AIA glossary for the guides for equitable practice

An intentional state of mixed people, institutions, and cultural norms.—the Just City index

Representation of all people in society, encompassing race, ethnicity, gender, identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, religion, socioeconomic status, ability, education, marital status, parental status, language, physical appearance, and other characteristics used to marginalize groups.—J.E.D.I. Committee, AIA St. Louis, definitions

Dominant culture/identity

Dominant culture consists of the values, beliefs, and practices that are the most common and influential within a society or group. The dominant culture is often [presented] as the norm, the preferred, or the “right” one in a society, organization, or institution. Dominant identities are those that are seen as the norm in a particular cultural situation and generally benefit the most in that culture.—AIA glossary for the guides for equitable practice

Empowerment

To give formal authority or power to a person or collective group by promoting action or influence.—the Just City index

Equality

Equality is a form of fairness achieved by treating people with dominant and non-dominant identities in the same manner, whatever the disparities may be at their starting points. Equal treatment, however well intentioned, may sustain inequities. The term is often used in contrast with equity.—AIA glossary for the guides for equitable practice

The provision of equal or equivalent distribution, status, rights, power, and amenity.—the Just City index

Equitable development

There are several definitions or set of principles used to describe equitable development, but the term generally refers to a range of approaches for creating healthy, vibrant, and sustainable communities where residents of all incomes, races, and ethnicities have access to the opportunities, services, and amenities they need to thrive. Equitable development strategies help low-income, minority, tribal, and overburdened communities participate in and benefit from decisions that shape their neighborhoods and regions. Equitable development is a systemic approach to the creation of communities that alleviates disparities in the distribution of benefits and burdens of growth. Projects, programs, and policies all play a role in the creation of neighborhoods that foster positive social, economic, and health outcomes for people of all backgrounds.

It is both place-focused (housing, transportation, infrastructure, pollution) and people-focused (job training and placement, business development, education, health and wellness, financial management).—EPA's creating equitable, healthy, and sustainable communities

A positive development strategy that ensures everyone participates in and benefits from the region’s economic transformation—especially low-income residents, communities of color, immigrants, and others at risk of being left behind. It requires an intentional focus on eliminating racial inequities and barriers and making accountable and catalytic investments to assure that lower-wealth residents: live in healthy, safe, opportunity-rich neighborhoods that reflect their culture (and are not displaced from them); connect to economic and ownership opportunities; and have voice and influence in the decisions that shape their neighborhoods.—policylink

Quality of life outcomes, such as affordable housing, quality education, living wage employment, healthy environments, and transportation are equitably experienced by the people currently living and working in a neighborhood, as well as for new people moving in. Public and private investments, programs, and policies in neighborhoods that meet the needs of residents, including communities of color, and reduce racial disparities, considering past history and current conditions.—Government Alliance on Race and Equity

Equitable development is both a process and an outcome. It involves a mix of policies, programs, and practices aimed at creating healthy, vibrant, thriving places while mitigating the results of social injustices. Equitable development outcomes focus on community ownership and wealth building, self-determination, equitable resource allocation, prosperity, and increasing the agency of members of traditionally disinvested communities. “Equitable development is driven by priorities and values as well as clear expectations that the outcomes from development need to be responsive to underserved populations and vulnerable groups, in addition to using innovative design strategies and sustainable policies.” Learn more in AIA’s Equitable Development Frameworks.

Equity

Equity is the state in which everyone is treated in a manner that results in equal opportunity and access, according to their individual needs. Equity requires identifying and eliminating barriers that have disadvantaged non-dominant identity groups to assure that all individuals receive equitable treatment, opportunity, and advancement regardless of identity; it also means that some individuals will need more support [due to existing structural barriers] than others. Equity differs from equality or parity. [this

report] focuses on equity rather than equality because our society operates on an uneven playing field. Inherent power differentials have resulted in disparate treatment, usually based on identity. Given the profound structural disparities and vastly different starting points, focusing on equality by giving everyone the same support would not accomplish the goal of just outcomes.—AIA glossary for the guides for equitable practice

The distribution of material and non-material goods in a manner that brings the greatest benefit required to any particular community.—the Just City index

Allocating resources in a way that recognizes individual advantages and barriers to ensure everyone has access to the same opportunities. Equity recognizes that advantages and barriers exist. Equity is the approach & equality is the outcome.—J.E.D.I. Committee, AIA St. Louis

Inclusion

Inclusion is manifested in an environment in which everyone feels welcomed, respected, supported, safe, and valued. Inclusion is distinct from but related to equity and diversity.– AIA glossary for the guides for equitable practice The acceptance of difference and the intention to involve diverse opinions, attitudes, and behaviors.—the Just City index

Environments in which any individual or group can be and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate and be their full, authentic selves.—J.E.D.I. Committee, AIA St. Louis

Justice

Dismantling barriers (racism, classism, sexism, etc.) To resources and opportunities in society (power, wealth, education, healthcare, etc.) So that all individuals and communities can live full and dignified lives.—J.E.D.I. Committee, AIA St. Louis

Participation

The active engagement of individuals and community members in matters, both formal and informal, affecting social and spatial well-being.—the Just City index

Redlining

Redlining is a discriminatory practice of de facto segregation that excludes, most often, black people from some neighborhoods by denial of mortgages and other services. When the fair housing act passed in 1968, it became possible, in theory, for anyone to buy a home anywhere in the U.S.; however, the history of redlining and neighborhood covenants meant that the homes of many people of color had appreciated in value far more slowly than others, rendering non-redlined homes beyond the reach of those whose financial equity had not increased as much. Redlining is considered one of the clearest examples of institutional racism that has disadvantaged black people and communities.—AIA glossary for the guides for equitable practice

Voice

Allowing the articulation of different points of view and cultural norms to help shape decision-making.—the Just City index