ABSTRACT
In New York City, the non-profit Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) adheres to a successful mission of using art, design and visual culture to increase meaningful civic engagement, particularly among historically under-represented communities', says Christine Gaspar, Executive Director since 2009. CUP subscribes to a process of creation of appropriate and accessible visual education tools for community organisers and city dwellers. It aims to help people to overcome the inherent difficulty of comprehending complex urban policies and decision-making processes that shape neighbourhoods, and to empower individuals to take further action. Gaspar, a long-standing community design leader whose background is in architecture and planning, was formerly assistant director of Gulf Coast Community Design Studio (GCCDS) in Biloxi, Mississippi, provided architecture and planning services to low-income communities recovering from the devastating effects of 2005's Hurricane Katrina. CUP often creates print items such as posters and booklets because they are easily accessible by low-income communities, but also produces some multimedia and video projects.
