POLITICS, PROTESTS + PLACE: The Role of Inclusion Urbanism in Civic Activism

Politics, Protest, and Place is organized by the AIA|DC Urban Design Committee and AIA|DC Equity Committee by WIELD (Women Inspiring Emerging Leaders In Design) in cooperation with AIA|DC and exclusively online.

This exhibition showcases work by winners of an ideas design competition hosted by the AIA|DC Urban Design Committee and AIA|DC Equity Committee by WIELD.

The word “civic” is inherently linked to space, place, urban design, and social justice. Designers need to expand their role beyond the traditional boundaries that have defined us and our industry. This will require stronger collaboration and cross-industry relationships and, more importantly, direct political and civic involvement where the policies affecting these issues can be influenced and defined.

The project illustrates the District of Columbia as a canvas for provocative conceptualization to facilitate social activism in our public realm in new and novel ways.A brief statement on the submitted entry:

This competition entry called The Forum proposes a huge new civic plaza floating audaciously in the Tidal Basin.  And the phrase ‘Change Is Coming’ which is spelled out on the plaza floor is meant to be a provocation and a call to action.  Just like the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work ‘The Floating Piers’ constructed in the year 2016, The Forum is a spectacle by its nature which will be easily visible from planes flying to and from the Nation’s Capital.  But The Forumdoes not determine what the words and deeds of the people are, it simply gives them a platform and amplifies their message,

Which we hope is message of equality and justice.