The Commons: Land, Property, Information, and Landscape Agency
The twin pandemics of 2020 (the racial reckoning, and the COVID 19 epidemic) forced critical reflection on the past and present of built environment professions. Numerous systemic inequities enabled by the design of places and infrastructure were revealed resulting in disparities in public health resources, access to information and technology, and many other areas. In the case of Black communities, these disparities have fueled a renewed focus on mutual aid, cooperation, and collective action to fill gaps in community resources.
This presentation presents the idea of “The Commons” as a framework that could alter ways in which equitable practices landscape architecture and environmental planning, especially with Black communities. Although not a uniquely Black cultural phenomenon, Commoning has been a hallmark of Black landscapes historically including cooperatives and community land trusts to enable labor, land, and property rights. Digital versions of commoning emerged during the twin pandemics and helped people remain connected and leverage dispersed resources. Moving forward, a focus in landscape architecture on developing knowledge and tools to enable commoning could increase the equitable impacts of our work.
The presenter Kofi Boone, FASLA is a Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor and University Faculty Scholar in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at NC State University.
Time: 17:00 BST
