A Voice at the Table

2020

Project Maps [click to enlarge]
Affirmative Spaces in Roxbury Collage
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A Voice at the Table is a research initiative that explores the role that affirmative spaces play in promoting community building, empowerment, and resilience for Black womxn in Roxbury, MA.

Recognizing the intersectional framework that Black womxn hold in our current society, this research seeks to empower the Black womxn’s narrative in the realm of urban planning and design both in Roxbury and the design practice at large. The intentions of this exploration aim to unpack how planning and design for communities on the margins of society helps us better tackle the deep-seated challenges we must address to create more inclusive design outcomes.

The research is built on collecting personal narratives through surveying, personal interviews, and group discussion. Research outputs leverage photography, collage, illustration, mapping, and writing to produce a graphic booklet and interactive website.

This research and report were sponsored by Sasaki through an internal research grant program. This development of the website was funded through support from the MIT Office of Minority Education and PKG Center.

Info

Status
Completed 2020
Location
Roxbury; Boston, MA
MEdiums
Research, Urban Planning/Design, Photo Collage, Graphic Design, Web Design
Team
Core Team: Mel Isidor, Elaine Limmer, Nayeli Rodriguez, Breeze Outlaw
Illustrations: Zulay Holland
*Work completed while at Sasaki.
Advisors
Mary Anne Ocampo, Kai Grant, Courtney Sharpe, Sabrina Dorsainvil, Brandi Blessett
Contributions
Full project leadership and coordination from conceptualization through final deliverables; including research, data collecting, interviewing, workshop facilitation, mapping, photo collage, graphic design, report development, and website development

Interactive Website

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Graphic Report

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Full Collection

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Perspectives of Neighborhood Change: Case Studies

In the summer of 2018, ten students at universities across the United States were selected as AACHAF Research Fellows and were commissioned to research and write essays on neighborhood change and historic preservation in ten study cities.

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