Part of the M_A exhibition at the UAM is dedicated to the work of Urban Applications (UA), a project of Materials & Applications. UA has begun to partner with other groups in Los Angeles County who are responding to multiple civic needs by developing community-engaged projects that interpret local environmental infrastructure improvements and include area residents in hands-on experiences that promote deeper understanding of and ownership in their immediate environment. Urban Applications’s activities are not unique: there is an upswell of groups responding to the needs in our communities for greater environmental health, loosely structured social spaces, and more economic opportunities via various public engagement strategies.

What are some of the best strategies to engage communities in developing new public places? What are some of the problems with opening the design process to non-designers? What are the opportunities?

Moderated by John Southern, Principal of Urban Operations, Faculty at Woodbury University School of Architecture