Colloqate Design

“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 to intentionally organize, advocate, and design spaces of racial, social, and cultural justice throughout the built environment. Through programming, planning and design projects, Colloqate seeks […]

Project Row Houses

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, and direct action to enrich communities with engagement. It is a home base for initiatives, art programs, and neighborhood development activities. The programs strive to […]

Traction

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, working on projects through donor funding and study abroad with the University. In 2019, Traction was registered as a nonprofit organization in Washington. Traction has […]

Landscape for Humanity

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 resources. For example, designing edible landscapes, creating sustainable portable water supplies, and providing flexible solar design. The Landscape for Humanity (L4H) non-profit works closely with […]

Tiny WPA

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 Project works with diverse social and economic backgrounds from youth to adults. Collaboration, leadership, fabrication, and entrepreneurship skills are fostered and then applied to address […]

University of Arkansas Community Design Center

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 has a downtown location with full-time design and planning staff, providing services for communities and organizations across the nation. The UACDC addresses public-interest design through […]

Hamer center for Community Design at Penn State University

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, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and citizen groups. One of the organizations values is a focus of socio-economic and environmentally conscious design and planning solutions. The […]

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, […]

Detroit Collaborative Design Center at University of Detroit Mercy

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 in a multi-disciplinary, nonprofit architecture and urban design firm. The team is made up of seven professionals and a few student interns. The team uses […]

Small Center for Collaborative Design at Tulane University

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 collaboration between partner organizations and Tulane University that brings design expertise and voices of residents together. Every project starts as a proposal from a community-based […]

Center for Public Interest Design at Portland State University

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 university, including architecture, business, environmental science and management, public affairs, and public studies and planning. Field work with firms and organizations that work on community […]

the UMass Amherst Design Center

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 urban design work to address needs of various communities. Efforts include projects to support revitalization and sustainable design. The Design Center is a collaboration between […]

Assemble

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 in a democratic and co-operative manner and focuses on built, social, and research-based work. Their work includes built structures, art exhibits, children play spaces, furniture, […]

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 […]

Architects Without Borders – Seattle

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 access to design services, both internationally and in the Puget Sound area. This organization is part of an international coalition of designers that provide pro […]

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 […]

Kounkuey Design Initiative

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 for equitable communities. They do this through designing and building, community-led planning, researching and testing, advocating and educating students and practitioners around the world. Their […]

Environmental Works

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 include architecture, landscape architecture, and planning. They strive to create quality design and sustainable communities with efficient use of capital funds. Environmental Works focus on […]

MASS Design Group

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 through research, building, and advocacy, primarily through architecture. Building for a climate positive future is one of their values. This includes the design of a […]

The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)

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 meaningful civic engagement, particularly in underrepresented communities. They make urban policy and planning issues understandable to more community members so that they can better participate […]