IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section A

Abstract

How can we reverse engineer the traditional site research process to identify why some marginalized cities haven’t been gentrified or commodified? An essential part of the design progress is the pre-design site analysis. A proper understanding through documentation and analysis of site conditions beyond the physical properties is essential if a design is to be rooted in a social purpose. Based within NJ’s first urban research institute, we have a unique perspective of traditional neighborhoods and how they have the potential to accommodate culturally appropriate activities. This includes 1) teams of student researchers conducting comparative studies between a culturally significant underserved city in the most demographically diverse state in the US and socio-culturally similar gentrified benchmarks, 2) local leaders to understand the communities collective histories and the cultural products essential to many residents lives and livelihoods into the future, 3) interdisciplinary guests from African/ queer studies to develop best practice guidelines for appropriateness in interacting with a local population, and what you should and shouldn’t get out of marginalized people while maintaining respect, and 4)how does the city itself respond to global issues of sustainability, using existing heritage industry to power it’s economic motor, and the community’s shared history both physically and culturally. Our research focuses on rethinking how site research in predominantly marginalized urban communities is conducted. Our aim is to contribute to a body of research that is critical of the dominant design process. By rethinking how the community’s shared past and present inform how cultural activities and local traditions in non-gentrified neighborhoods serve to ward off the displacement, we can gain a wealth of knowledge into understanding the social, cultural, and historical knowledge essential to good site research and ultimately good design.