04.21.21
Bora principals Amy Donohue and Jeanie Lai, along with Colloqate Design and Portland Community College, are presenting how we can embrace equity and inclusion in community building design at this year’s International Living Future Institute conference.
When PCC set out to build a new workforce training center to empower citizens in need—many of them women of color—they began with a mandate for equity and inclusion. In a groundbreaking RFP, the College envisioned an outreach and design process driven by the tenets of Critical Race Theory. Thanks to multiple partnerships, the new Portland Metropolitan Workforce Training Center recognizes and addresses past inequities, celebrates diversity, and invests in the community without being a vehicle for displacement.
Our April 21 presentation explores:
— How a community college established project goals and a design process imbued with the principles of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Design Justice
— The ways public-interest design can benefit diverse and under-invested communities at the building, site and neighborhood scales
— How partnerships between the education, housing and non-profit business sectors create unique opportunities for equitable design
— Design solutions informed by CRT, Design Justice and Trauma-Informed Design that create inclusive, welcoming environments while also fostering the health and well-being of occupants