Shaping Inclusive and Community-Centered Design
Architects and design professionals hold the vision and skills to shape the physical landscapes in which people dwell, work, connect, and recreate. However, the design process must go beyond aesthetics and function—it must actively engage and reflect the voices of the communities it serves.
Aligned with 2024 AIANY President Gregory Switzer’s theme, “Belonging and Beyond,” AIANY is committed to fostering a shift in how design practitioners and community leaders approach engagement. Our goal is to establish meaningful, equitable, and lasting community partnerships that lead to stronger design processes and outcomes.
AIANY’s Commitment to Community-Centered Design
We believe:
- No practitioner is a neutral actor—and design is never neutral, either. Every design decision carries power and responsibility.
- Design practitioners have a layer of power and responsibility to center community voices, perspectives, and priorities in the design of community-suited spaces.
- Engagement standards must evolve to dismantle exclusionary practices and rebuild trust between design professionals and the communities they impact.
- Architects can increase people’s feelings of being “recognized and connected to” their built environments if they are equipped with the intention, self-awareness, practices, and tools to authentically engage community members throughout the design process.
Advancing Better Engagement Practices
- To drive this shift, AIANY is launching an initiative dedicated to establishing and normalizing best practices for community engagement, centered on:
- Designs which prioritize historic and existing community belonging, inclusion, well-being, and flourishing.
- Sustained engagement from early planning through post-project feedback.
- Recognizing community members as equal partners, valuing their lived experience and post-project vested interests.
- Bridge building and de-siloing between and among all entities impacted by the project.
- Embedding transparency and accountability throughout the design process, including budgeting.
- Incentives and benefits for design practitioners, clients, and community members.
- Embracing adaptability and the complexities of change management.
Through this initiative, AIANY aims to reshape the way architects and design professionals approach community engagement—ensuring that the built environment reflects and reinforces a sense of belonging for all.