Abstract
Various approaches to constructing place exist in the literature. In this paper, we explore what approach is appropriate for and beneficial to underserved communities. We used literature, case studies, interviews, and service-learning projects we conducted at our community-based studio in Detroit. The COVID-19 pandemic and racial tension in recent years have revealed various barriers to enhancing health, well-being, and quality of life for underserved populations of color. As a result, they experience various types of traumas in their built environment. In response, we investigate place cultivation as an appropriate approach to construction of place in disadvantaged communities. We aim to understand the practice of place cultivation in planning and design using social justice as an analytical framework. We identify three approaches to creating place: place-taking, place-making, and place-cultivating. We suggest that place-cultivating is a more effective way to address existing trauma in the community. We identify four elements of social justice as an analytical framework to examine place-cultivating: relevance, equity, governance, and participatory engagement. We believe that ideal place-cultivation addresses all four elements. We studied ten examples that support place-cultivating and compared them based on the social justice analytical framework. Our study outcome suggests that although the referenced cases seem to promote place-cultivating, they tend to emphasize relevance and participatory engagement over equity and governance. Our findings show more work is to be done in practice to promote equity and governance in place-cultivating to make it a more effective approach to addressing structural disparities and associated traumas in underserved communities.
Presenters
Joongsub KimProfessor, College of Architecture and Design, Lawrence Technological University, Michigan, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
PLACE-CULTIVATING, TRAUMA, COVID-19, SOCIAL JUSTICE, UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES
