Democratic Design Without Borders

Share/Collaborate/Learn/Advance: Democratic design in the forms of citizen participation and community engagement has risen in prominence in areas around the world. From North America to East Asia, community design practitioners and advocates have made significant progress in democratizing environmental design and planning practice in one project after another. Founded in Berkeley in 1998, the Pacific Rim Community Design Network has been a forum that facilitates continued exchange and learning between community designers in East Asia and North America. The purpose of this Intensive was to bring the ongoing exchange to EDRA to engage a broader audience beyond the Pacific Rim. More specifically, the program was intended to foreground democratic design as a continuously evolving practice that could be enriched through critical sharing and exchange of experiences, success stories, and pitfalls. The day-long session focused simultaneously on how democratic design could transcend borders and how such practices could operate in particular cultural, geographical, and institutional contexts. As part of EDRA 46 in Los Angeles, the event included presentations by practitioners and scholars, a roundtable discussion, and a tour of the Augustus F. Hawkins Natural Park, the site of the Intensive session. [Intensive Program] [Notes from the Intensive in EDRA Connections]

EDRA 46 Intensive, Los Angeles, 2015. Organizers: Jeffrey Hou (University of Washington, Seattle), Randolph T. Hester, Jr. (University of California, Berkeley), and Henry Sanoff (North Carolina State University).