Segregation by Design
Catalina Freixas, Mark Abbott, Joseph Heathcott
In Spring 2015, Catalina Freixas and Mark Abbott were awarded a grant through the Divided City Initiative to design a course to be entitled “Segregation by Design: A Historical Analysis of the Impact of Planning Policy in St. Louis” that would examine the causes and consequences of residential segregation in metropolitan St. Louis, as well as, propose potential policy and design mitigation strategies. The intent of the collaboration was to generate a transdisciplinary approach to segregation from the perspective of an architect, Freixas, and a historian, Abbott.
To assist in course preparation, Freixas sought and was awarded a grant through “Bring Your Own Idea,” an internal Washington University program offered by the Office of the Provost to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. While the program is designed primarily for Washington University faculty, Freixas and Abbott used their grant to conduct eight conversations during the summer and fall of 2015. Fifty two participants were invited to discuss various aspects of segregation in the region. Among the participants there were academics at area universities, as well as other stakeholders from various nonprofit institutions and other regional organizations.
Segregation by Design class photo
During Spring 2016, Freixas and Abbott developed the course syllabus. They identified six anticipated student learning outcomes. These outcomes were:
– Strengthening analytical skills
– Testing new research methods and strategies
– Enhancing student ability to work in teams comprised of individuals from diverse backgrounds
– Preparing students to work with community stakeholders
– Building student ability to write a cohesive neighborhood plan
– Developing a fuller understanding of the role of policy and design in the promotion and alleviation of segregation in America
Course Structure
The organization of the course was structured in four parts. Part I examined historical causes of segregation looking at everything from the 1916 St. Louis Segregation Ordinance to current federal housing policy. Part II focused on the social and economic consequences of segregation. This part of the course pinpointed income, educational, employment, and health disparities between African Americans and whites, which are a result of segregation in America. Parts III and IV of “Segregation by Design” were meant to look at potential policy and design strategies to mitigate segregation.
Each of the four parts was divided into two components. The first component was comprised of lectures that were delivered by guest lecturers from area universities.
The second component of each of the four parts of the course was the creation of a neighborhood mitigation plan for six different communities in metropolitan St. Louis by student teams. Each team was divided equally between Washington University architectural students in the Sam Fox School of Design and Urban Affairs students from Harris Stowe. The plans were structured to reflect the structure of the course and as the course proceeded through each of its four parts, the students drafted that section of the plan. To assist in the writing of the plans, each team was assigned two or three professionals from various design and policy fields. Each of the six communities were selected to represent a unique expression of segregation that was the result of different forces and which represented unique challenges and objectives for mitigation.
Outcomes
There have been several positive outcomes already from the course. Perhaps the most important is a planned publication that is an outgrowth from the “Bring Your Own Idea” conversations. Because of the quality of the conversations and the number of surprising insights made, Freixas and Abbott are in the process of editing and annotating the conversations as a book. They have also approached both participants and outside scholars to contribute adjoining essays. The book is also going to be illustrated by a series of photographs from the collection of “City Talks…Street Walks” by photographer and essayist, Cissy Leaks. The anticipated publication date is 2018.
The course has also resulted in two exhibitions. Freixas curated an exhibition of Ms. Leaks’ photographs, where eight images were paired with excerpts from the “Bring Your Own Idea” conversations which opened in October of last year at Olin Library. The Leaks exhibition was joined by the work of the Segregation by Design student teams upon completion of the course. In addition to the plans, each of the student teams produced a display board that summarized their research. Both exhibitions were on display in Olin Library until January 3, 2017. While the Leaks exhibition is currently in storage, the student boards have been displayed at HSSU and will be later displayed at the Creative Exchange Lab gallery (March) and at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts (April).
Another major outcome from the course was a plenary session at the 2016 SLACO Regional Neighborhood Conference held at HSSU in October. The session was a panel discussion on the desired objective of mitigation moderated by Freixas and Abbott. The panel consisted of Kenneth Jolly (Professor of History, Saginaw State University), Andrea Boyles (Professor of Sociology, Lindenwood University), Michael Willis (Architect, Michael Willis & Associates: San Francisco), Aimee VonBokel (Visiting Professor of History, Rice University)—who are all essayists in the planned book. The question which the panel addressed was “What should the goal of mitigation of residential segregation be—equity, inclusion, or integration?” The session was attended by approximately 70 people and was very well received.
A fourth outcome of the course is that Aimee VonBokel has been asked to deliver one of the lectures of the 2017 HSSU Black History Month lecture series that is being sponsored by the Missouri Humanities Council. She was invited because of her lecture, “Not So Black and White: Two St. Louis Families and the Cumulative Value of Property Ownership” that she gave in “Segregation by Design.” In addition to her lecture, a version of her presentation is being published by the St. Louis American.
The course will apparently have two “real world” community outcomes. The Tower Grove South Neighborhood Association (TGSNA) is very interested in “Segregation by Design” and the plan prepared by the student team. Sometime during 2017, the team will make a presentation to TGSNA at one of their monthly meetings. The content of “Segregation by Design” and some of the work of the student teams may also be used by Great Rivers Greenway and their work with Beyond Housing’s 24:1 Initiative in the Normandy School District.
The last outcome of “Segregation by Design” and maybe the most hopeful one is that the course will be offered again in Fall 2017 and is looking into including students from Saint Louis University. The course may also involve a more intimate partnership with SLACO and member neighborhoods.
Catalina Freixas is an assistant professor of architecture in the College of Architecture in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.
Mark Abbott is a professor of history in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Harris-Stowe State University and director of the Center for Neighborhood Affairs.
Joseph Heathcott is associate professor of urbanism at the New School, is a consultant on the project.
A recording for a lecture given by Professor Heathcott can be found in the Divided City Video Archive