EXPLORE OUR DIGITAL SOCIAL DESIGN DIRECTORY
LEARN ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND PRACTICES WHO USE DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL CHANGE

Farm XL. Image Credit: Nadia Castronovo Farm Cultural Park Can rejuvenation through art transform a forgotten town? Farm Cultural Park (FCP) is an art gallery and exhibition space, located in Favara, Sicily. The aim of the project is to give the city, previously known mostly for its general decrepitude and for having one of Italy's highest unemployment rates, a new life through art. Can rejuvenation through art transform a forgotten town? Once Upon a Future, Evento Bordeaux, 2011. Once Upon a Future is an imaginary fast-forward to a possible Bordeaux in 2030 – the target year by which the city projects to have reached the magical number of one million inhabitants. Image Credit: STEALTH.unlimited STEALTH.unlimited What are the limits of architectural practice? STEALTH.unlimited challenges notions about architectural practice by connecting arts, urban research, cultural activism and interventions. They have a particular focus on ‘common’ spaces shared by both the private and the public. What are the limits of architectural practice? David Baker Architects Can affordable housing be more than just housing that is affordable? David Baker Architects is a Bay Area and Atlanta-based firm specializing in affordable housing, green building, and transit-oriented development. With its focus on integrating elegant, contemporary aesthetics with energy conservation and humanity, its work sets the standard for public housing. Can affordable housing be more than just housing that is affordable? Portrait of David Allen Burns and Austin Young with cats, 2014. Photo credit: Jim Newberry Fallen Fruit What if our cities become places that grow natural resources for anyone to share? The art collective Fallen Fruit plants fruit trees in public spaces for everyone to share. They invite citizens to re-imagine public participation, urban space and the meaning of community. What if our cities become places that grow natural resources for anyone to share? Prinzessinnengärten as a place for environmental learning. Image Credit: Marco Clausen Prinzessinnengärten Why should citizens and activists reclaim public space? Prinzessinnengärten is a bottom-up community garden in Berlin notable for both its scale and its ingenuity in starting a public conversation about the democratic use of public space. Why should citizens and activists reclaim public space?
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Prize Winners

Learn about our Prize Winners, Grantees, and Design Circle.

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Podcasts

Social Design Insights podcast. Conversations with the leading voices of the social design movement.

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Videos

Short, inspiring films about social design pioneers around the globe.

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Initiatives

Community Design Agency collaborates with communities to use architecture and design to create sustainable change

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CSF’s Mission is to empower the practice of community-driven social design

The Curry Stone Design Foundation supports groups and individuals using design to build healthier, more vital communities. Over time, this support has taken the form of an annual prize, a podcast, grants, and an honorary circle. Currently, resources are being focused on Community Design Agency

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Community Design Agency, an initiative of Curry Stone Design Collaborative, is an architecture and design agency that collaborates with diverse communities in need to create sustainable change.

CDA envisions an inclusive world where every human enjoys access to vibrant, safe and healthy spaces to live, work and play. Its mission is to work alongside communities, drive social and spatial improvements through participatory planning, community-driven design and architecture, advocacy and consultation for those in need.

Learn more about CDA and our process of community driven social design here.

Social Design Insights is a weekly podcast of conversations with leading designers who discuss innovative projects and practices that use design to address pressing social justice issues.

Hosted by Eric Cesal, Produced by Baruch Zeichner.

Listen to the latest episode of Social Design Insights here.

IN MEMORIAM

Jockin Arputham dedicated his life to working with slum dwellers to build representative organizations into powerful partnerships with governments and international agencies for the betterment of urban living.

Mr. Jockin Arputham

We are saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend, colleague and incredible humanitarian Mr. Jockin Arputham.

Jockin dedicated his life to working with slum dwellers to build representative organizations into powerful partnerships with governments and international agencies for the betterment of urban living. Arputham was the president of the National Slum Dwellers Federation which he founded in the 70s and of Slum Dwellers International which is now a network of slum and shack dweller organizations and federations from over twenty countries across the world.

The National Slum Dwellers Federation works closely with Mahila Milan, a collective of savings groups formed by homeless women and women living in slums across India, and with SPARC, a Mumbai-based NGO that was awarded the Curry Stone Design Prize for their instrumental work in supporting tens of thousands of the urban poor access housing and sanitation throughout India.

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