Reflections on our second equality, diversity and inclusion event — Conversations with Black creatives (the built environment) edition
Last year in November, we hosted the first event in our series of conversations with Black creatives on Zoom. This event was born out of our desire to start a conversation about the role of design in tackling systemic inequalities and in amplifying the voices of black creatives.
On Tuesday 19 of January, we held the second edition in the series to explore how the planning, design and built environment sectors are exacerbating inequality and injustice. In addition, to make recommendations and discuss how we can collectively create a more equal and just world.
Here are some of the highlights:
The event was chaired and kickstarted by Design Associate Jacqueline Bleicher also the Founding Director, of Global Urban Design CIC, a community focussed urban design and placemaking consultancy social enterprise that provides the skills and services required for creating great places. Check out the book Jacqueline co-authored — Our City? Countering exclusion in public space, by STIPO, PPS and the European Placemaking Network.
Majora Carter (Majora Carter Group) on talent retention strategies and community led agency
Majora Carter is a real estate developer, MacArthur Fellow, Peabody Award winning broadcaster and a visionary voice in city planning who views urban renewal through an environmental lens. She’s from South Bronx in the United States and her mission is to ‘transform low status communities’ — places with environmentally burdensome facilities, chronic health conditions, educational unattainment, places where people believe nothing good stays there or comes there.
On low status communities…
“We have places to get medicated (pharmacies) or self-medicated (liquor stores) but we don’t really have the kind of places that allow us to build our own financial equity. Yet we have places like the pawn shops that will extract it from us… And we have affordable housing for only the poorest income levels, which concentrates poverty. Therefore what we are essentially doing is giving people with talent reasons to leave their communities as opposed to encouraging them to stay”. — Majora Carter
On self-gentrification…
Majora’s approach to real estate development is unique as it is about retaining talent. “Especially the ones that have been thought to measure success by how far they can get away from their community”. Her method is quite simple, to teach these low status communities how to ‘self-gentrify, which translates as real estate development led from within — for the community by the community.
In 1998, Majora helped to transform a degraded industrial section of a residential neighbourhood in the Bronx, which served as an illegal dumping ground and later became an award winning Park named Hunts Point Riverside, in 2014. It was a $3.4 million development project and South Bronx’s first open-waterfront park in 60 years. And then in 2017, she launched the Boogie Down Grind, a Hip Hop themed speciality coffee and craft beer spot. The coffee shop also doubles up as a place that educates families on investment opportunities within their neighbourhood.
However, Majora’s approach to real estate development has not been met without critique. Self-gentrification is also seen to some as selling out. For instance, during an investment meeting, Majora noticed 10–15 passionate protestors outside her coffee shop Boogie Down Grind, accusing her of selling out South Bronx one coffee at a time. So, how does she respond to such critique? “If I wasn’t building out something, no-one would see that it was a possibility”. Check out Majora’s Ted talk on greening the ghetto and on local eco-entrepreneurship.
Tanatswa Borerwe, (Black Female Architects) on how systems are contributing to inequality
Tanatswa Borerwe is a Zimbabwean born, Architectural Assistant for HTA Design, a contributor for Migrants Bureau and an advocate for Black Females in Architecture (BFA).
The migrant experience…
Tanatswa is passionate about the telling the story of the migrant experience and exploring how we can navigate spaces that are not designed for us. To tackle this issue she contributes for Migrant’s Bureau, a multidisciplinary social design and urbanism practice for disenfranchised migrant communities. In 2018, they designed a series workshops on gender equities, which became part of London Design Festival in 2018. The goal was to try and understand the complexities of gender and racial bias issues found in London.
A 2019 report from Architects registration Board (ARB) stated that just 1% of architects registered with them are black out of the 43,000 architects surveyed. The report also admitted that the industry still faced “serious diversity issues”. Furthermore, women are more likely to drop out of the profession after becoming mothers. This is why Tanatswa is passionate about organisations such as Black Females in Architecture (BFA) who support women in gaining senior roles and empower them to establish their own practices. Follow Tanatswa on Instagram.
“Being a black female architect can be a lonely experience. It’s amazing to be part of a community of women with the same shared experiences, knowledge and mentorship” — Tanatswa Borerwe, Black Female Architects
Seth Scafe-Smith and Akil Scafe-Smith, (RESOLVE) on how platforming practices aid collective resilience
Seth and Akil Scafe-Smith run RESOLVE, an interdisciplinary design collective that combines architecture, engineering, technology and art to address social challenges. Their unique selling point is to infuse workshopping with spatial practises, which helps to platform different initiatives as well as foster the work of other creatives.
Building locally…
Rebel Space: In 2016, they constructed a seven-day pavilion for Brixton Design Trail as part of London Design Festival 2016. The pavilion was built in St Matthew’s Church Gardens in Brixton and was made from materials all sourced from within a mile radius of the site to support their local community. For seven days and nights, the pavilion was home to artist exhibitions, film screenings, music and roundtable discussions. In creating a temporary space, Seth and Akil were are able to pay homage to Brixton’s diasporic communities, which is interwoven with the rich, complex histories of both African and Caribbean diaspora.
Digitalising research…
Programming im Passivity: In 2020, Seth and Akil were involved in an exhibition celebrating the life and work of an 18th century German-Ghanaian philosopher Anton Wilhelm Amo by bringing his work to life and presenting it in an interactive way.
The pandemic led to the exhibition being cancelled and Seth and Akil had to leave Germany earlier than planned, due to the lockdown. As a result, they resorted to completing the exhibition by facilitating conversations with their team in Germany using WhatsApp.
Furthermore, some of the exhibition materials technique were transferred to a remote learning resource which their audience could access in their homes. More importantly, the research was presented in an intuitive manner as users were able to navigate the platform using flags. Lastly, by digitalising Anton Wilhelm Amo’s ideas and philosophies as well as the lives of other black Europeans from the 16 -19 century, Seth and Akil were able to amplify the voices of black creatives from the past and inspire a new generation of black creatives. Check out Resolve Collective’s website to see all their projects.
“For us, design carries more than aesthetic value; it is also a mechanism for political and socio-economic change”— Resolve Collective
And finally…
To sum it all up, I learnt that amplifying the voices of black creatives from the past is important as Seth and Akil Scafe-Smith have shown through their work on digitising Anton Wilhelm Amo’s ideas and philosophies. Tanatswa Borerwe work experience is a reminder that being a black female architect can be an isolating experience. Therefore, organisations like the Migrant’s Bureau and Black Females in Architecture (BFA) act not only as a support network but also a sisterhood. Lastly, Majora has shown us that poverty might be a cultural attribute. To some Majora is a local and international hero but to a few, she’s considered a sell-out. To conclude, we mustn’t forget that our quest for equality will always challenge the status quo. In the words of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich “well-behaved women seldom make history”.
Second edition presentation + recording
To view the presentation slides from the event, click here or you can view the recording here.
Conversations with Black Creatives 2021: Third Edition on (Inclusive Design)
The last event in the black creative series will look at inclusive design and how this notion is expanding from where it started around designing products and places that are accessible to all, to something more systemic where we are designing products and places, policies and narratives which promote equity for all. The upcoming event is taking place on March 30th at 12 pm BST. Click here to reserve your space!
