Building a Just and Sustainable Boston, together.
This summit is dedicated to exploring and promoting equitable design practices and spatial justice. By bringing together thought-leaders, professionals, and community advocates, this event will foster meaningful dialogue, share innovative solutions, and inspire systemic change in the design of our built environments.
To explore spatial justice principles within four key themes: Legacies, Ecologies, Infrastructures, and Practices.
To bridge theory and practice by demonstrating practical applications of spatial justice concepts.
To foster collaborative learning and idea exchange among diverse professionals and community leaders.
To equip participants with actionable strategies to implement spatial justice in their work.
To build a network of practitioners committed to advancing spatial justice
LegaciesExamine historical roots and ongoing impacts of spatial injustices, such as redlining, urban renewal, and disinvestment. Explore how these inherited socio-spatial conditions continue to shape communities today.
EcologiesInvestigate relationships between human habitats, environmental justice, and equitable access to amenities. Address the connections between built environments and natural systems, focusing on issues like unequal exposure to pollutants and access to green spaces.
InfrastructuresAnalyze systems and networks that shape access and agency, including both digital and physical components. Explore how governance structures, property regimes, and urban planning decisions influence spatial equity.
PracticesPresent case studies and strategies for inclusive design practices and equitable partnerships. Examine both professional and everyday spatial practices, considering participatory placemaking, community engagement, and implications for transforming architecture and planning professions.
The program book is available digitally here, but hard copies will be provided to attendees at the Summit. We look forward to seeing you there!
More speakers are added regularly—please check back often!
Networking and breakfast. 9:00.
Framing Spatial Justice. 9:30 – 10:30. An opening conversation with:
Spatial Justice in Practice (Breakouts). 1.5 AIA LU/HSW CE credits available! 10:45 – 12:15. Thematic case study presentations.
Lunch. 12:15 – 1:15 Courtesy of Amba
Voices of Spatial Justice. 1.5 AIA LU/HSW CE credits available! 1:15 – 2:45. Panel discussion featuring:
Advancing Spatial Justice. 1.5 AIA LU/HSW CE credits available! 3:00 – 4:30. Workshops on tools, tactics, and strategies
Closing. Towards Anti-Oppressive Collaborative Practices. 4:45 – 5:15. Led by Rebecca Riccio, Director, Social Impact Lab, Northeastern University
Reception. 5:30 – 7:30. Hosted by MASS Design Group
Spatial Justice on the Ground. 9:30 – 12:00. Site visits: meeting on site, not at the BSA. In partnership with Sasaki Foundation. See the site visit guides for meeting location details, or meet facilitators at 9am at the transit stops indicated below.
Lunch & Debrief from Site Visits.
Designing Just Futures Design Charrette. 1:30 – 4:30. Held at the BSA. In partnership with Boston Architectural College
Closing Session. 4:45 – 5:15. Action Planning and Commitments
Full summit (2-day) in-person tickets include lunch, networking...
Ticket Price
Non-member
$125
BSA Member
$100
Emerging Professional/Student
$50
We are excited to offer a special rate of $50 for the entire summit for emerging professionals! This option is open to current students and AEC professionals with under 5 years of experience, and can only be applied for in-person attendance. Please email [email protected] with any questions.
Design justice reframes conventional design processes to acknowledge that communities most impacted by spatial inequities are also experts who should have decision-making power over the design of their built environments and technologies. It aims to redistribute control and cultivate equitable, community-centered collaborations between professionals and publics. Design justice recognizes that the way we design shapes systems and experiences of oppression or liberation.
Spatial justice analyzes how histories, policies and systems have inequitably structured access to space along lines of race, class, ability and other social constructs. It exposes the role of the built environment in perpetuating harm or cultivating well-being. Spatial justice frameworks empower critical examination of power dynamics embedded within spatial contexts in order to remedy past injustice, dismantle oppression, and cultivate equitable distribution of resources through place-based solutions and stewardship models determined by impacted communities.
An Architect: Striving to integrate spatial justice and equitable design practices into your work.
An Urban Planner/Designer: Trying to create more inclusive, sustainable urban environments.
A Community Leader: Seeking to collaborate with like-minded leaders to advocate for resources and spaces that provide equitable access to all residents.
A Policymaker: Seeking tools to better assist communities through the creation of policies promoting spatial justice.
Activists: Seeking a diverse audience of collaborators to accelerate progress around social justice through grassroots efforts.
Emerging Professionals and Students: Eager to learn from established experts and gain practical insights into spatial justice applications to assist in their career development.
Anyone curious and energized to share experiences, to network, and to collaborate on initiatives that promote the design of just futures
Thank you to our event partners and sponsors. Please check out our sponsorship packages and join them today!
Thanks also to additional contributors to the Designing Just Futures Summit for the following kind gifts:
Amba
Cambridge Street Hospitality Group
Complimentary Day 1 lunch
What are you looking for?