To impact equity across built environment disciplines, stakeholders must fundamentally address a range of inequalities including race, gender, class, sexual orientation, age, ability, and other aspects of intersectional and individual identities.
These pieces of identities have been mechanized by systems of oppression. Applying an equity lens to the design process for built environments should be included in this re-examination. Yet, dominant design pedagogies continue to reinforce – consciously or unconsciously – aspects of power, dominance, and social
status that manifest as barriers in the built environment for traditionally marginalized populations.
Ongoing research at NC State aims to explore how equity is operationalized through the design of the built environment. Using a qualitative multiple-case study approach, this study ultimately aims to develop a framework of operationalized design interventions in the form of goals and strategies that promote equity in the built environment. The resulting framework is poised for adoption by architecture practitioners, building professionals, educators, policymakers, and any other key stakeholders interested in creating more equitable and inclusive buildings, spaces, and communities.