Author: Jenn Low

As we approach the end of 2020, we celebrate the people and movements that are driving change to achieve more just futures for ALL. From the people who have been hard at work mobilizing voters—to our steadfast community leaders and their everyday work to cultivate communities of care. Like these change-makers who inspire us, The Urban Studio also strives to be the change we want to see in the world. We do this through projects and programs that leverage art and design tools to ensure that those communities who are most affected by design are seen and heard as critical stakeholders in shaping their OWN neighborhoods and their OWN futures.

The Urban Studio (US) is thrilled to announce Pardon Our Disruption, a three-part-virtual event series kick-off to our end-of-year fundraising campaign. Each of these events will give you a peek inside the inner workings of The Urban Studio.

On Giving Tuesday (December 1st, 2020) we will kick-off the series at 1pm PST/4pm EST with “Upset the Set Up”, to showcase methods and tools to expand conventional notions of “engagement”. Founding board member, Davi de la Cruz will walk us through a power mapping exercise as an important first step to understand who holds power and where we want to build power. While board member, Jenn Low, shares MakingSPACE for Youth Perspective, a modular workshop series co-created with a high school social justice class in Dearborn, Michigan. Design As Protest Collective core organizer & Failed Architecture contributor, Christin Hu, will talk about their passion for cooperative games through their own creation, Landscape Games. Last but not least, we will welcome Los Angeles-based community organizer & entrepreneur, Daniel Villa to talk about his participatory storytelling project that takes place at the intersection of art and technology, called Hello Data.

Tune in the following week on December 8th for an exclusive conversation with our mentor and friend, Kona Gray, Principal at EDSA and Torey Carter-Conneen, new CEO of the American Society of Landscape Architects, as we talk about the future of landscape architecture. US Co-Founders Kendra Hyson and Maisie Hughes will moderate this important session about how design leadership, both old and new, can drive much needed change in order to achieve healthier, greener, and more vibrant communities for all.

Our Vice President, Andrew Sargeant, and student board member Jelani Byrd will close out the Pardon Our Disruption series with a (virtual) hands-on workshop that explores the intersection of mapping and social justice. Through a step-by-step demonstration, we will showcase how to democratize data by using open-source assets and live 3D mapping with QGIS. Andrew will lead us through a brief tutorial and create space for questions and conversation on the possibilities for application in your own project work.

We can’t wait to bring these events to you all! Your support and participation in events like these helps all of us find new ways to shake up and bring about much needed change. Help us accelerate our efforts to create more healthy, vibrant, and just communities for all. Purchase your tickets today via Eventbrite!

Interested in Sponsorship for this event? Contact US at info@theurbanstudio.org for details.

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About The Urban Studio

The mission of The Urban Studio is “to advance design thinking for equitable and sustainable urbanism.” We envision a world where all people have the means to create healthy, vibrant, and just communities. Toward our mission and vision for the world, we seek out partnerships and projects that align with our five core values: 1) design as liberation; 2) co-design and co-creation with communities of color, 3) authentic and respectful engagement; 4) Intergenerational leadership and mentorship; and 5) experts of lived experience. Learn more about their ground-breaking efforts to advance design-thinking for equitable and sustainable urbanism here.