Design and Planning Assistance Center at the University of New Mexico

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) in 1969 as part of a national community design movement, linking universities, design practitioners, and communities. Their work involves research, community participation, asset inventory, analysis, […]

UW Extension Community Design Team

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 would otherwise be less accessible. This allows communities to make more informed decisions about the future of their spaces. The UW Extension pulls knowledge from […]

Resilience by Design

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, and conflict. Resilience by Design establishes partners, networks, and organizations that collaborate in workshops. Their process is Creative Action Research which explores research questions through […]

Informal Urban Communities Initiative (IUCI)

The IUCI is a program based in Seattle, Peru, and Nepal that focuses on design activism, research, and education. It looks at integrated, interdisciplinary design of infrastructure and public space through assessment, design, and implementation through community-driven interventions. Designers, students, and professionals collaborate with marginalized communities to improve human and environmental health. Projects include a […]