Posted on

Home Territory: Democratizing Civic Space for the Unhoused

 

Jerome Chou and Lauren Elachi, (USC faculty, research seminar, Fall 2020); Katy Foley and Hyunchoo Sung (USC faculty, studio, Spring 2021)
With students: Robert Andrade, Siwei Chen,
Hector Covarrubias Del Cueto,
Lauren Cubacub, Yongyi Dong,
Shun Feng, Megan Gozini, Yiqian Lin, Jared McKnight,
Yiyi Peng, Sze Hin So, Danielle Vonlehe, Qingru Yang,
Wanting Zhou
Input and feedback from: Stephany Campos, Executive Administrator. Homeless Health Care Los Angeles;
Dan D’Oca, Principal, Interboro
Lili Graham, Litigation Counsel, Disability Rights California;
John Malpede, Founding Director, LA Poverty Department
Steve Diaz, Deputy Director of Organizing, LA Community Action Network;
Brice Maryman, Principal, MIG
Donny Donoghe, Senior Designer, Alta Planning + Design;
Jimmy Kim, Superintendent, Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Emergency Division;
James Gilliam, Coordinator, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
Chelsea Mauldin, Director, Public Policy Lab
2020-2021

Home Territory: Democratizing Civic Space for the Unhoused

More than 66,000 people are unhoused in Los Angeles County, living in individual makeshift shelters and large encampments, in cars and under freeway overpasses, and in parks. This project-in-progress explores homelessness in relation to public space (parks, in particular) and how it is perceived, regulated, programmed, and designed. With the goal to better understand the forces and histories that shape our attitudes towards homelessness today, students heard from key stakeholders, visualized systems to address homelessness, analyzed existing conditions at parks across the region, and developed strategies to improve these parks for everyone, especially the unhoused.

Through the generation of both short- and long-range solutions to reimagine parks, and the roles that they play in our communities, this research is focused around a series of primary goals and objectives:

1) to learn how theorists, designers, outreach workers, and activists understand homelessness – not as a consequence of bad choices or bad luck on the part of individuals, but as a product of racist and inequitable policies, regulations, and systems;

2) to understand and document the strategies that a wide range of stakeholders use to address homelessness in parks;

3) to get to know intimately and document parks that have been contested as prominent sites in addressing homelessness;

4) to build skills in defining and answering research questions that can be applied to address real world problems; and

5) to develop ideas for physical, program, and policy strategies that seek to make parks welcoming for everyone, and to improve parks’ capacity to serve a wide range of diverse users’ needs.

Spring 2021 semester will be focused on developing strategies for democratizing civic space through the practice of designing with empathy. Findings and outcomes will be published as a resource of ideas for organizations, designers, and communities.

Research Seminar Outcomes (Fall 2020)

Click through to see existing conditions presentations on the following topics:

Click through to read select final reports from students:

Studio Outcomes (Spring 2021)

The Spring 2021 studio coursework focused on developing strategies for democratizing civic space through the practice of designing with empathy. Findings and outcomes will be distributed as print and digital resources for organizations, designers, and communities [check back soon for final link].