Annotated Table of Contents Empathic Design Perspectives on Creating Inclusive Public Spaces Edited by Elgin Cleckley, NOMA
Summary In Empathic Design: Perspectives on Creating Inclusive Spaces (Publication Date: January 16, 2024), award–winning designer and architecture professor Elgin Cleckley brings together ten leaders and visionary practitioners in architecture, urban design, spatial justice, planning, and design activism. The chapter's authors show how to take an empathy-based design approach and ways to translate the generational lived experiences of marginalized communities into built form. As part of an emerging design framework, empathic designers work with and in communities affected by violence, racism, displacement, spatial justice, and sexism. Empathic design acknowledges the complete history of a place, even when that history is painful, and addresses the lived experiences and memories of community members with respect. Through empathic design, people can better connect with the ongoing history of a place and develop deeper relationships with nature and the land. Empathic Design provides essential approaches and methods for designing inclusive public spaces with respect for communities' history and lived experiences. This work ensures that all people, especially those marginalized and harmed by systemic oppression, are represented in their built environment.