Equity is Sustainability
By: Bella Oliver, Student IIDA
From the impact of climate change to the health of our communities and the people who live in them, Sustainability and DEI are critical to the design industry. However, these terms often have loose definitions. In high school, I saw city benches uprooted and replaced with ‘new, higher-tech, sustainable’ benches. In reality, the old benches that once served as someone's bed were purposely replaced with anti-homeless designs. Justified as a sustainability effort, it created a violation of both, especially DEI because most people who are experiencing homelessness, are also Black or people of color and that disparity is only increasing.
Why? Many communities of color are being pushed out of their historic homes through gentrification. As an intern at Hoque Global, a Dallas-based real estate development firm, I learned the careful thought behind each company decision. As a Black, bi-racial woman, I was often the only person of color in the room. I saw firsthand how even highly-skilled, well-intentioned people could not replace the inclusion of diverse lived experience required to create equitable design. And inequitable design is simply not sustainable. So what does ‘equitable sustainability’ in design look like? It looks like people having access to sustainable design in their everyday life, inclusive of income and identity. An example of this is using high quality materials and designs to create housing that is well insulated, energy saving, and built for longevity.
As a designer, my main objective would be to create a space that describes the beauty and physics of our world and an obtainable reality. Through my ACE (Architecture Construction and Engineering) project designing a sustainable building along a river, I learned how architects make the CHOICE to follow fundamentals. When we come in with the intent to respect the existing space, we create a mutual bond between the people we're working for, the institution, and the qualities that give the place a spirit. That's why I want to go into environmental design, to help build healthy designs for equitable human living and go beyond 'building neutral' sustainability.
I got a glimpse into what this could look like during the three years that I attended Camp Uprise, a week-long training camp for youth climate activists. I got to connect directly to undeveloped land, learned from environmental activists and experts from different identities and parts of the country. It helped me understand that justice is critical because if we can’t acknowledge or mend what we’ve already done to stolen land, displacing communities, greenwashing, etc. We can't address the current problem or imagine something different.
With this, one of the main elements that need to be analyzed and thought about is the overall composition of the design and the interaction of the selected and interaction between materials being used. The usage of materials creates the "feel" support and sustainability of the project. When thinking of what goes into projects we need to understand that these structures simply aren't built to be built, but to actively help and improve society.
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