2017 Master of Landscape Architecture Candidate
2016 Wendy L. Olson Fellowship Research
North Carolina State University
Fall 2016

DESCRIPTION:

Fellowship research that advocates for community empowerment by improving information and database architectures used to make urban planning and development decisions.

OBJECTIVE:

Document patterns of systemic displacement within urban communities of color. Demonstrate the ability of information architecture and community-driven data to empower communities.

METHODS:

As the 2016 Wendy L. Olson Fellow for Public Service in Landscape Architecture, this research began with a literature review that documented existing community empowerment strategies, patterns of urban development, and the complex process of displacement and gentrification. The literature review drove the creation of a network diagram that documents 4 primary contributors to the cycle of displacement and racial inequity. Relational database design was used to prototype a text-based community resource and demonstrate the potential of database design to connect community-specific information to those who need it.

RESULTS:

The Olson Fellowship research was compiled into a thesis titled “Mapping Information to Action: Information Architecture and Community-Driven Design.” The research demonstrates that racial inequity and profit-driven urban development perpetuate a cycle of gentrification and displacement. Furthermore, the research shows that improving the quality of data and information architecture used by municipalities, designers, and developers can disrupt the cycle and empower communities to control their information, document their needs and assets, and contribute to the creation of a holistic representation of value.