Design and Planning
EDP 307 Assignments Prompt
Each assignment should be separated by the date shown. Each should have the
numbered question then answer written under. All the necessary material will be
included below.
April 7, 2020: Urban design and inequality
After reading, watching and listening to all of today’s materials, please answer the following three
questions.
POWERPOINT:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hcvgann1d1eeqvo/EDP307_SPRING_2020_Equity_UD.mov?dl=0 (30
minutes)
VIDEO – 50 Years Later: Reflections on Whitney Young Jr.’s Speech to the AIA (3 min)
VIDEO – Walter Hood, Macarthur Foundation profile (4 min)
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/1040/
VIDEO – Emmanuel Pratt, Macarthur Foundation profile (3 min)
https://www.macfound.org/fellows/1047/
VIDEO – Building Stories: City Planning With James Rojas (3 min)
READ – How Urban Design Perpetuates Racial Inequality–And What We Can Do About It:
https://www.fastcompany.com/3061873/how-urban-design-perpetuates-racial-inequality-and-what-
we-can-do-about-it
PODCAST – The Inequality Of Urban Design (49 minutes)
https://think.kera.org/2019/09/24/the-inequality-of-urban-design/
1. Please answer the following question in 3 or 4 paragraphs or so: Based on all of today’s
materials, what are some of the best ways that you think urban designers (and allied
professions) can address issues of social equity in their practice? In other words, as an
urban designer, what are some of the things you need to think about or do as you go
about the process of creating your designs so that the resulting places are fair, equitable
and just? Use at least 3 examples from today’s materials to explain your response.
2. Please answer the following question in 2 paragraphs or so: In your opinion, how can a
focus on environmental sustainability in urban design help increase social equity?
Examples of sustainability elements in urban design might mean preserving or adding
natural elements (e.g. trees, rain gardens, drought tolerant plants, etc.), using
sustainable materials (e.g. recycled materials, nontoxic materials, etc.), emphasizing
walking, biking and transit over car use, etc. Please use examples from today’s materials
to support your answers.
3. Please answer the following question in 2 paragraphs or so: What are some of the ways
that existing urban design decisions may impede social equity? In other words, using
examples from today’s course materials and your own knowledge, how might the
existing designs of most American neighborhoods, parks, towns, downtowns, etc. serve
to marginalize or exclude some kinds of people in an unfair way. I address this question
from a historical context in the day’s Powerpoint, but please think of some other
examples as well. Again, please use examples from today’s materials to support your
argument.
April 9, 2020: Universal Design
Please watch/listen to the following items, then answer the following questions in 1 or 2 paragraphs
per question. I am looking for some evidence of engagement and critical thinking. It is also a good
idea to use examples or refer to information you learned from the materials in your answers.
READ – Design for Everybody:
https://www.planning.org/planning/2016/mar/designforeverybody/
READ- The Seven Principles of Universal Design
https://www.tolerance.org/sites/default/files/general/seven_principles_of_universal_design.pdf
VIDEO – Why We Need Universal Design (11 minutes)
VIDEO – The 7 Principles of Universal Design / Ed Roberts Campus (6 minutes)
VIDEO – How architecture changes for the Deaf (5 minutes)
VIDEO – Why Is Accessible Design Good for Everyone? (video: 7 minutes)
PODCAST – Curb Cuts (53 minutes)
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/curb-cuts/
1. Increasingly in architecture, urban design, product design and communication
technology/interface design we talk about “universal design” instead of “accessibility.”
The hope is to get designers to think about ALL potential users and how to create
products or environments that function well for EVERYONE, as opposed to some kind of
“special accommodation” for certain users. In terms of urban design (e.g. public space)
list 3 or 4 aspects of your assigned SBU campus site for this semester that might hinder
or run contrary to the idea of Universal Design. Or, stated another way, what are 3-4
aspects of your assigned site that might create challenges for certain users like elderly
people, people in wheelchairs or on crutches, deaf or blind users, etc.
2. Imagine you are working on a project to redesign the project site you were assigned for
this campus this semester. At a meeting with someone from the campus administration,
they look at some of your design recommendations and ask about them and you explain
that they help advance the idea of Universal Design. But the client responds, “We have
mostly able-bodied young people on this campus. Why should we spend extra money on
a bunch of design interventions that may never get used or will only help a few people
very rarely.” How would you respond to this critique? (Remember, they are paying you for
this job. You need an answer that helps them understand why it’s important to prioritize
these things, but you don’t want them to fire you because you’re hard to work with. How
can you tread that thin line?) Try to use some examples from the
readings/videos/podcast to make your argument.
3. When most people think about disability in the context of urban design, they tend to think
about two specific kinds of disability – people who use wheelchairs and people with
visual impairments. But there are actually endless ways in which each of us is, or might
be, disabled or even simply find some designs easier to use than standard “boilerplate”
designs. Can you think of some other kinds of disabilities that designers might want to
consider in attempting to create universal designs for public spaces (in other words,
instead of designing for the AVERAGE user, what kinds of issues should designers think
about when trying to design for ALL potential users)?
4. Think about the current Coronavirus crisis. Discuss whether you think that the longterm
response to the crisis by urban designers may overlap with or help advance the idea of
Universal Design in public spaces. Explain your opinion and why you think so. (There is
no right or wrong answer here, I just want you to think about any potential overlaps
between the goals of UD and the post-Coronavirus world we’ll be living in.)
5. Visit the website http://ncdj.org/resources/educators/terminology-quiz/ and take the
Terminology Quiz. When you are done and have submitted the quiz, click on the “See
Answers” button and read about the correct answers. Write your score below, and (even
if you got a perfect score!) explain the 3 most surprising/useful/interesting things you
learned from taking the quiz and reading the answers.
6. For this question, please do the following tasks and tell me what you learn for each: First,
close your eyes or put a bandana over your eyes and try to navigate from your bedroom
to the kitchen and pour yourself a glass of water. Second, with your eyes open, bring a
chair into your kitchen and try to pour a glass of water, then try to take something out of
the fridge and pretend to cook it on the stove (I know you’ll need to move the chair
around, but I’m trying to get you to think about what it would be like to use your kitchen
in a wheelchair. Third, with both of your hands made into fists (but your eyes open), walk
to the bathroom, close the door, flush the toilet, turn the sink on and off, and open the
door. I know this is your home and not a public space, but explain some of what you
learned about Universal Design and the challenges of daily life for people with
disabilities.
April 14, 2020: Lighter, quicker, cheaper
Please answer the following questions in 1 or 2 paragraphs each after watching/reading/listening to
this week’s materials.
READ: Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper: A Low-Cost, High-Impact Approach.
pps.org/article/lighter-quicker-cheaper-a-low-cost-high-impact-approach
LISTEN: The Help-Yourself City (38 minutes) – also read the short article on the webpage where the
podcast is posted:
