AIA Resource on Building Equitable Communities

An NDC + Gensler team was selected through a competitive RFP process to create a resource for @aianational that answers the question: “How do architects design and advocate for equitable processes and outcomes in projects, from scoping to construction?”

The resource, Finding Agency to Create Equitable Change Through Design, was built through a series of conversations with AIA members and experts working in the design and development industry with an equity lens.

Ten focus groups and formal conversations were held over the course of six months with 67 participating practicing designers and architects.

Important insights and salient themes emerged from those conversations about equity in practice and the challenges that are presented. In addition, an advisory group provided oversight to the final document and outcomes of the research.

The resource is a collection of targeted ways that, using their agency and power, architects can work to mitigate oppression and advocate for a future with just and equitable communities. These tangible actions — tools, strategies, and time-tested practices — are methods other practitioners have integrated into their design practices to yield more equitable processes and outcomes.  

Guided by the board- and member-level committees and task forces focused on equity, the AIA continues to invest in developing frameworks, guidelines, and resources that consider equity in practice and project settings with a focus on climate action, racial justice, and designing for communities.  

Finding Agency to Create Equitable Change Through Design shares how architects can, in their practices, bring about racially just and equitable outcomes for all members of the communities they serve. These actions take place both within projects and beyond.

Although there are myriad challenges in the design and development process that can hinder the depth of impact, providing designers, resources for actionable tools, tactics, and strategies offer means to understand the extent of agency to more sensitively drive equity in practice and in the communities in which they work and live.