(B03) Exploring Pathways to Equity in the Built Environment

Equity has recently taken center stage as a top priority across architecture and design, but with little understanding of how to truly address such issues. While strides are being made to reframe the understanding of barriers in the built environment, and new scholarship and practices are continually emerging, the transformation remains slow in practice. This interdisciplinary panel of experts will share their work to advance equity in the built environment across four key areas: the Social Determinants of Health, Inclusive Design, urban planning and development, and placemaking. Real-world case studies from individual spaces to urban planning will be shared that reflect an intentional effort at equity in the built environment.

Traci Rider, PhD, LEED AP, WELL AP, architectural educator and researcher, North Carolina State University College of Design, will discuss her research around how the Social Determinants of Health can be operationalized in the built environment, sharing research from a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded project envisioning the built environment as a community health intervention, and other current research.

Victoria Lanteigne, WELL AP, Inclusive Design consultant, will share her research that addresses connections between Inclusive Design and Equity, with a focus on projects that reflect concepts of social integration, cultural appropriateness, and personalization.

Renae Mantooth, PhD, WELL AP, Education practice senior design researcher with HKS, will review an equity-centered evidence-based applied research framework that integrates within the design process to create more culturally responsive learning spaces that enhance student well-being, social connection, and academic engagement.

Antoine Bryant, NOMA, Assoc. AIA, Director of the Planning & Development Department for the City of Detroit, will share his approach to designing for equity at the urban scale, reviewing his experiences and community engagement strategies. His work in Detroit is shifting development to focus on issues of widespread mobility, opportunity for all, value of both past and future, industry and diverse economies, local neighborhood amenities, and public green space.