The following is a collection of organizations focusing on or related to design activism and social justice through design.
Architects Without Borders-Seattle was founded in 2005 by a group of Seattle architects and designers in response to the Asian tsunami. Today, this non-profit serves communities that would otherwise lack ... (more)
Assemble works in architecture, design, and art in a multi-disciplinary collective in London. It was founded in 2010 originally for one design-build project but has since expanded. The team works ... (more)
The Center for Public Interest Design at Portland State University is a program that offers a Graduate Certificate in Public Interest Design. The courses are from multiple disciplines across the ... (more)
"Colloqate Design is a multidisciplinary nonprofit Design Justice practice focused on expanding community access to, and building power through, the design of social, civic, and cultural spaces. Our mission is ... (more)
The Design and Planning Assistance Center (DPAC) provides low-income communities in New Mexico with design and planning services. It was founded at the UNM School of Architecture and Planning (SA+P) ... (more)
The Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC) at the University of Detroit Mercy was originally founded to rebuild the city with community and philanthropic organizations. It creates sustainable spaces and communities ... (more)
Environmental Works Community Design Center is a nonprofit community-based architectural firm that provides services to other nonprofit organizations, municipal agencies, and under-represented communities in the state of Washington. Their services ... (more)
Hamer Center for Community Design at Penn State is a landscape architecture design center made possible by the Hamer Foundation. It is a collaboration with Penn State researchers and designers, ... (more)
KDI is an international, interdisciplinary firm that includes engineering, landscape architecture, community organizing, architecture, and urban planning. They aim to create physical, social, and economic infrastructures to provide a foundation ... (more)
Through design, research, and projects, Landscape for Humanity creates spatial changes that support social and environmental justice with landscape architecture. Their Food-Energy-Water (FEW) approach aims to increase self-sufficiency through natural ... (more)
MASS Design Group is a team of architects, landscape architects, engineers, builders, furniture designers, writers, film makers, and researchers from across 20 countries. They advocate for justice and human dignity ... (more)
Project Row Houses (PRH) is located in Houston’s historic third ward, which is one of the oldest African American neighborhoods in the city. Their mission is to use engagement, art, ... (more)
The ResiliencebyDesign (RbD) is a research lab at Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. This interdisciplinary team uses applied, participatory research with youth to address disasters, climate change, ... (more)
The Small Center for Collaborative Design is a community design center at Tulane University, originally set up to support those suffering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. It is a ... (more)
The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) is a nonprofit organization based in New York City with a national audience. The CUP uses the power of design and art to increase ... (more)
The UMass Amherst Design Center, located at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, focuses on the challenges of communities in Massachusetts. They use research, and a wide range of planning and ... (more)
Tiny WPA strives to expand and empower community design leaders, in order to act as a national model for engaging people of all ages in community-based design. Their Building Hero ... (more)
Traction started working with their first community in 2009, at the informal urban settlement of Lomas de Zapallal in Lima, Peru. They also started working with the University of Washington, ... (more)
The University of Arkansas Community Design Center (UACDC) started as an outreach center in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design, with a focus on rural development. The center ... (more)
The UW Community Design Extension is a cooperative university extension at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. A cooperative extension is a linkage between universities providing research-based knowledge to communities that ... (more)