vision

Development is a willful process - it occurs according to the will of those with a seat at the table.

Despite efforts in recent history to encourage equitable and socially minded development, we continue to see BIPOC communities disproportionately disadvantaged by development patterns.

The way our built environment develops is not random, arbitrary, or fixed. Every building, road, and street is the culmination of a series of deliberate decisions made by a relatively narrow array of professionals. These decisions, like all decisions, are not free from the bias of the decision makers.

Because of this, we believe that any viable long term movement toward equity in development hinges on the diversification of the professionals with decision making power in the development process.

Architects, developers, and city planners make decisions that change communities forever.

Architecture is one of a few fields with influence over the development process. Architects are present alongside developers from the early stages of site planning, and remain involved until projects have completed construction. Trained to understand the effects of the built environment on individuals and communities, Architects are uniquely positioned to represent the interests of communities that new development is poised to impact.

Presently, the communities most often disadvantaged by development are substantially underrepresented in the field of architecture. Recent studies by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) have found that only 2.4% of responding licensed Architects are African American, only 3.4% are Latinx, and 1.0% are Native American. 85.8% of responding licensed Architects are White.

We believe that a demographic shift toward diversity in the field of architecture will lead to a philosophical shift toward equity in our priorities for the built environment as a society.

Becoming a licensed Architect is an arduous process, and more so for minority communities.

Research from the AIA and NCARB suggests that a series of critical barriers exist in the architectural training pipeline for BIPOC communities. We have categorized these barriers as awareness of the profession, admittance into university programs, and followthrough to licensure. We focus our work on minimizing these barriers, creating programming that supports future Architects from early in the education process all the way through licensure.

Our approach is attuned to the locations within which we are working. We partner with existing organizations to support relevant successful programs, develop new programs where none or too few exist, and leverage regional assets to amplify our mission.

We believe that by changing the face of architecture, we can change the future of our communities.