Students from landscape architecture, architecture, and urban planning departments came together with community members and other stakeholders to build inclusive visions for a just circular community in South Park and the greater Duwamish Valley. The transdisciplinary studio environment encouraged connecting food, transport, waste, energy, and social systems - systems that are often separated in the built environment. The merging of these systems provided the opportunity to envision an economic model with greater integration, where waste is reframed as a resource for community wealth building and justice. This work builds off of the spring 2022 studio and continues to center the ongoing biodigester and biofuel system project, piloted by Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association (DVSA), as the catalyst for a just circular community. DVSA’s mission to lead and support work that prevents displacement and reinforces the resilience of South Park by way of community-owned and managed sustainable projects was held essential to the co-design by the students and stakeholders alike.

Over the course of 10 weeks, students worked individually and collaboratively on three major projects that built upon one another. They began the quarter with mapping and analyzing risks, impacts, community assets, initiatives, and action plans in South Park and Duwamish Valley. Following the compilation of their research into a resource, in groups of 8, students co-developed a framework for a Just Circular Community in South Park with community members and stakeholders through participatory design workshops. These frameworks were then applied to space with design strategies to envision community-oriented regenerative and resilient systems.

In this section you will find a deeper explanation of each project with their methodology and final products. In addition, there is a section dedicated to the community workshops and their outcomes. We hope these materials are both informative and inspiring.

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Acknowledgements

Design Studio Students:  Maron Bernardino, Nathanel Cohen, Nat Gregorius, Malka Hoffman, Bernadette Labuguen, Meaghan O’Connor Lent, Laura Thompson, Ava Ross,  Lu He, Yuqing Huang, Julia Luke, Rachel Searl, Jimmy Sund, Julia Wood, Joe Junan Yan, Anna Mcdonald,  Daquan Procto, Josiah Smith, Ask Søfelt, Hunter Ottman, Akeo Maifeld-Carucci, Sindhu Raju, Isa Lewis, Jessie Lin

Community Partners & Collaborators & Reviewers: Edwin Hernandez,  Moji Igun, Maria Ramirez, Cesar Lopez, Dr. Natalie Garcia, David Goldberg, Deb Guenther, Grant Gutierrez, Shannon Lee, Amelia Jensen, Julie Parrett, Cayce James, Alicia Kellogg, Robert Hanlon, Cleo Wolfle Hazard, Christoph Strouse, Rishi Sugla, Joanne Ly, Michelle, Jim, Carla, Silvia, Luz, Maggie