When we design for the future, how can we design with everyone in mind? A simple first step is to talk to people who are traditionally left out of the decision making process.

Thanks to decades of policymaking and defensive architecture practices, New York's public spaces are increasingly privatized and policed. As a result, people experiencing homelessness are often removed from public view and excluded from participating in acts of everyday life that most of us take for granted. Inviting the most frequent users of public space into the process to envision an alternative, inclusive, future shouldn't be a radical act. Yet it is.

Madison, Stella, Nikita and Eric will share their approaches to participatory research and design, and talk about the work they conducted as a part of a partnership between the Urban Design Forum and Picture the Homeless, a grassroots advocacy organization run by people currently and formerly experiencing homelessness.

Their presentation will be followed by an intimate fireside chat facilitated by Natalie Kuhn, co-founder and organizer of Service Design Collective NYC, a chapter of the Service Design Network.

Come prepared with questions!

About Our Speakers –

Madison Loew

Trained as a service designer with a community impact lens, Madison has leveraged the design process in community wealth building projects at a state, city, and community level. Madison is passionate about redesigning systems and services to drive equitable outcomes. Madison holds a Masters in Design Methods from IIT Institute of Design.

Stella Kim

Stella Kim is a city planner who is fiercely dedicated to excellence in planning/design and a more equitable public realm, with expertise in policy, zoning, and urban design. Her experience spans public and private sectors in San Francisco and New York City. She currently works as the Program Manager of Privately Owned Public Spaces at NYC Department of City Planning. Stella holds a Masters in City Planning from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies and Planning from UC San Diego.

Nikita Price

Nikita Price is a member and leader in the area of Civil Rights at Picture the Homeless, New York City's only homeless-led grassroots organization. The Civil Rights campaign focuses on selective police enforcement and the Broken Windows Theory as it applies to the Homeless and the poor in New York. He is presently raising two daughters as a single father and is passionate in his role of Fatherhood and Social Justice Organizing.

Eric Goldfischer

Eric Goldfischer is an urban geographer and scholar-activist studying the impact of green urban development on the visibility of homelessness and the lives of homeless people. He is currently completing his dissertation as a PhD candidate in the Department of Geography, Environment and Society at the University of Minnesota. His writing has appeared in Environment and Planning D, Housing Studies, and Capitalism Nature Socialism. You can find out more about his work at https://ericgoldfischer.com/

Find them on LinkedIn –

Madison https://www.linkedin.com/in/madisonloew/

Stella https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellaykim/

Nikita https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-price-003355a1/

Eric https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericgoldfischer/

General itinerary —

6:00 ~ 6:30 pm Grab a Bite (pizza provided) & Network

6:30 ~ 7:00 pm Mini Presentation with Our Speakers

7:00 ~ 8:15 pm Fireside Chat Followed by Q&A

8:15 ~ 8:30 pm Additional Networking

See you there :)