ABSTRACT
At the University of Washington’s Department of Landscape Architecture, public interest design education is fully integrated in the curricula of its two professional degree programs. Rather than a single or a subset of courses, public interest design is embodied in the programs at multiple levels, including the department’s strategic plan, design of curriculum, and development of specific courses and faculty-led initiatives. Our focus on public interest design and design activism is not limited only to projects in underserved communities but also extends to issues of urban green infrastructure, physical and psychological health, ecological planning and design, and social justice. This chapter highlights two initiatives that exemplify our holistic approach—the Design/Build Capstone Studio, in which students work in collaboration with community partners to design and implement a project in Seattle, and the Informal Urban Communities Initiative (IUCI), a multiyear effort focusing on empowering residents in informal urban neighborhoods through community-driven design interventions.
