Still Breaking the Chains...

Readings: "The Racialization of Space, and the Spatialization of Race" by George Lipsitz.
"Urban Landscape History: The Sense of Place and the Politics of Space." by Henri Lefebvre.

These readings bring to light an ongoing struggle and challenge implicating race and space that have been cultivated and perpetuated throughout our American history. Although these readings rely on poignant references of past discrimination in housing, planning, education, and opportunity, it becomes all too easy to relate the discrimination of those times to very similar struggles today. Although these skeletons of an all-to-recent past continue to haunt us, it remains entirely crucial that we continue to challenge these historically discriminate constructed attitudes, in an effort to not only to 'repair the past' but even more importantly, to invest in a better future. To quote Lipsitz, we must "disassemble the fatal links that connect race, place and power, ...creating new spatial imaginaries by helping build communities characterized by racial and class heterogeneity, inclusion, and affordability." p20.
I interpret this in numerous ways: 1) For the Federal government and us citizens to recognize housing as a human right, and as the responsibility of the government to ensure each citizen has a place to legally call home. 2) De-criminalize homelessness, and begin to understand diverse social inclusion as a means of community investment and opportunity. (i.e. design parks that celebrate social and cultural heterogeneity, self-regulation, and true democracy in design. 3) ensuring that urban planning and urban design are public, participatory, democratic, and transparent. 4) continue to challenge and deconstruct our priveleged spatial imagination, with a prioritized focus on those people with the least resources for upward socio-economic mobiliity.
More specifically, I really think that a great next step for designers is being proactive about the importance of democracy in planning, community development and design. This includes challenging discriminatory zoning, pressing for sustainable and healthy design practices, advocating for well-designed affordable housing, and most importantly, making sure that we do not become the part of the machine which perpetuates the oppression we see and study today. As priveleged, educated designers, I believe it becomes our civic responsibility to ensure that we do not passively perpetuate the all-too-relevant discriminatory history that gave birth to our wonderful generation.