MDes, University of Cincinnati, 2009, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Design

Should designers move past creating ‘tools which empower' impoverished communities to ‘empowering impoverished communities' to make tools? As designers have begun to work on the complex problems associated with global poverty they have slowly documented methods and identified best practices for creating social impact through design. One such practice is to increase the capacity of impoverished communities to solve problems. However, little has been written on how to accomplish this task. This thesis looks to community organizers for insight on community empowerment. It analyzes and compares design and community organizing in order to identify compatible and complimentary aspects of each profession. This comparison is used to suggest benefits each profession would realize from working with the other. The thesis culminates in the presentation of a novel approach for creating social impact through design and community organizing that moves beyond collaboration and into hybridization.

MARCH, University of Cincinnati, 2014, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture

Substandard living conditions for impoverished individuals and families in the United States enhance the already grim circumstances facing a marginalized population trying to survive. These living conditions are defined not only by a lack of upkeep but also by neglect for environmental, social, cultural, and behavioral influences in the initial design. Understanding the realities of dwelling, poverty, environmental behavioralism, and contextual stimuli is paramount to addressing the poverty epidemic. A series of case studies on effective, affordable housing solutions by architects including Michael Pyatok, Kava Massih, David Baker, and Patrick Tighe, combined with research on poverty conditions, utopias, and the urban context will allow for a synthesis of human programmatic needs. In addition to the focus on dwelling, there are four secondary topics that must be examined in depth to gain insight on how to design dwellings for the poor: environmental behavioralism, current social structures, the history of public housing in the United States, and specific contextual stimuli. It is the attention paid to contextualized human needs and to a slightly lesser extent environment and culture that allows the formation of sustainable, vibrant living conditions; places people can call their own. Analyzing these needs has led to an idea about how to live life in community more holistically, addressing many of the challenging realities facing the poor. This utopian community exists amidst the hopelessness that defines poverty and creates a role that the architect can step into and use minimalist design to provide opportunity to build capacity within a marginalized demographic.