ABSTRACT
Cities are roaring machines, powered by a series of interconnected systems including transportation, affordable housing, a robust job market, nutritional and health resources and education. This chapter explores implications of threats to sustainability, and how designers can foster empowerment for citizen and community resilience. Sustainability and resilience efforts are often undercut by race and class divisions. Hurricane Katrina is an extraordinary national example of how the aftermath of massive shock is more disruptive for some because of endemic chronic stressors. Designers who want to facilitate empowerment must know that strategies will vary by individual, community and location. Baltimore is the most populous city in Maryland, but has experienced a shrinking population since the mid-twentieth century. In 2012, a community needs assessment of Baltimore high school students revealed that almost 40 percent of eleventh graders drank alcohol in the past 30 days. Our workshops prioritize student voices and their realities as young black students experiencing Baltimore.
