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The following is a collection of written materials available online on design activism and social justice through design. To submit additional references, click here.

In this classic text Randolph Hester, a pioneer of community engaged design, presents a survey of participatory design history and outlines opportunities for improving this practice today. He notes the ... (more)
"Architects and planners have an obligation to protect health, safety and welfare through the spaces we design. As the George Floyd protests reveal, we’ve failed."  Bryan Lee Jr.'s recent article ... (more)
There is a lack of Black presence in landscape architecture. There are near to no Black figures in landscape architecture history, and the current enrollment in landscape architecture education is ... (more)
This article addresses the challenge of drawing with the public in collaborative design processes. It outlines methodologies for representing people, exchanging information spatially, coauthoring design, encouraging self-representation and visualizing deep ... (more)
In this article, Randolph Hestor argues that all design is design activism because there is no such thing as passive design. If all design is design activism, then what are ... (more)
"On February 9, 2021, Niki Franco moderated a conversation with Ivy Climacosa, Dustin Gibson, Annika Hansteen-Izora, and Liz Ogbu around the new protest movements that have arisen in reaction to ... (more)
This is a call to action for landscape architects and designers to get politically active. Landscape architects cannot become the climate remediators they have propped themselves up to be if ... (more)
This article seeks to address a couple of common critiques of design activism: that activism is primarily about stopping or preventing things and that activism raises awareness but doesn't actually ... (more)
"Landscape architecture and its allied professions must engage in critical discourse recognizing design’s role and responsibility in addressing issues of environmental racism and draw important connections between physical, spatial, and ... (more)
Landscape architects must enact equitable designs to bring forth environmental justice. They must be aware that low-income people are more likely to take residence in a place that poses environmental ... (more)
When one interacts with a community, one must prepare to be on his best behaviors. This guide provides activities that make you reflect and seeks to redesign your behavior in ... (more)
Published by Places Journal, featuring Simon Sadler, Adnan Z. Morshed, Aneesha Dharwadker, Ozayr Saloojee, Thandi Loewenson, Anya Sirota, Adam Arinsky, Matias Del Camp, Germane Barnes, and Irene Cheng. From their ... (more)
Published by Place Journal, featuring Brandi T. Summers, Jeremy Till, Peggy Deamer, Jeffrey Hou, Daniel A. Barber, Dahlia Nduom, James Graham, Nora Wendl, Cassim Shepard, Andrea Roberts, Sara Jensen Carr, ... (more)
Tactical urbanism involves pop up projects that are designed to engage the public and inspire more permanent change. This article outlines five stages that can lead a temporary project to ... (more)
"As I played in my backyard in East Los Angeles on Saturday August 29, 1970, just a few blocks away the streets were aflame. The Chicano Moratorium, a protest against the ... (more)
In contrast to the idea that modern technology will save the day, indigenous technologies provide a brighter outlook. Indigenous technologies work symbiotically with nature. Unlike modern technologies that tend to ... (more)
Allison Nkwocha in conversation with Kat Engleman, Kofi Boone, Hanna Kim, Alma Du Solier, Julian Agyeman, Melissa Guerrero, and Jeffrey Hou.  Part of LA+ Journal's Conversation Series. Read it here. ... (more)
"To address climate change, environmental degradation, and social inequalities, we need coordinated political action and systemic change on a global scale. With a mission to safeguard the health, safety, and ... (more)
This book outlines strategies for involving large groups of people in codesign processes. It includes a "collaborative design framework," case studies and a series of "quick lessons" on collaborative creative ... (more)
The New Landscape Declaration builds on the Landscape Architecture foundation's 1966 Declaration of Concern. Uniquely trained in systems thinking and interdisciplinary facilitation, landscape architects are poised to promote the ideals ... (more)
Published by MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, this paper provides an overview of placemaking. It claims that the collaborative design process results in both great places and stronger ... (more)
Lack of active measures in climate change mitigation is largely due to the fact that dismantlement of high greenhouse gas industries creates a vacuum. Project Drawdown is an organization that ... (more)
This article provides an overview of some of the opportunities and challenges associated with participatory design processes, especially those involving local partners in high poverty and informal settings. It reviews ... (more)
This article is about the use of innovative storytelling in participatory design processes. It highlights two techniques designed to engage community members in imagining futures and collectively constructing the public ... (more)