United States

June Jordan’s visionary practice reimagines the role of the built environment in creating just futures. Deeply committed to human rights and political activism, she used language to design a model for pedagogy and activism centered on ecology, care, and justice. While Jordan’s literary contributions reflect her work as a poet, author, teacher, and activist, what does it mean to call June Jordan an architect?

A person experiencing homelessness lacks shelter in its most basic form, but solving homelessness takes much more than buildings, and our contemporary moment reveals few problems that design, on its own, can resolve. According to the 2018 State of Homelessness in America report by the US Council of Economic Advisers, over half a million people in the US are homeless, with that number steadily increasing over the past three years—people living every day without this most basic form of protection that we as designers of our built environments provide.(1) In our own city of Austin, Texas, a 2021 report by the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) found that there are 3,160 Austinites experiencing homelessness, with more than 2,200 living without any shelter. (2)

Circular City Week, the biggest circular economy festival in the US, is an open and collaborative festival for circular economy related events. For the fourth time, Circular City Week will take place in New York from 2-8 May 2022. Activities during Circular City Week emphasize how circular practices such as reuse, recycling, and upcycling are transforming urban industries and the built environment.

ARCHITECTURE ENGAGED Launches Spring Term 2022 with a Distinguished Lineup