How can a one-day event spark lasting change? How can community design be open sourced? What should we be measuring if we want to gauge positive change?

I talk with transportation and placemaking expert, Andrew Howard about his experiences doing just this with Team Better Block. Andrew is the director of placemaking at WGI, a national design and professional services firm leading in technology-based solutions for the construction of public infrastructure and real estate development. Andrew co-founded Better Block in 2010 as a transportation and placemaking focused public outreach firm that temporarily re-engineers auto-dominated, blighted, and underused urban areas into vibrant centers.

Katie and I explore how love can be a power to transform the world. Katie shares how she has learned to think about and practice designing with love, and how designers can use love to help dismantle systemic injustices.

“Talking about Love gives us clarity. Love and abuse, or love and racism, or love and discrimination, fundamentally cannot coexist.” - Katie Swenson

In Episode 9 of the Shared Space podcast, Patricia Gruits of MASS design and I explore synergies between designing for COVID-19 and designing for social connection with a special focus on senior living. Understanding the toxic impacts of loneliness and social isolation, designers are looking to help people safety connect. We explore how to design for joy, hope, and connection rather than fear. Not ignoring the dangers, but rather finding the synergies in these.