Designing Justice: Rethinking the status quo of violence maintained by public infrastructure towards Queer Black and POC individuals
In this blog for LGBT+ History Month Robin Swartz, a current MArch student at the Royal College of Art on their research highlighting the ongoing divide between public and private spaces, where reliance on home as a safe haven does not protect against threats to physical and mental well-being stemming from intersectional identities.
Robin Swartz is a student from Johannesburg, South Africa and is currently doing their master’s degree in architecture at The Royal College of Art in London. Their practice involves communal upliftment and trying to make visible the things that are deemed invisible. Robin’s goal is to use design to give people the space to rediscover the human right to be themselves.
Researching the divide between public and private spaces
In the wake of Uganda’s Parliament passing a robust anti-LGBTQ bill, along with the staggering number of similar bills across the U.S. with the deliberate aim to expunge the community, the binary between public and private spaces is being reinforced.
In response to this, I undertook a research project focused on longstanding systemic inequalities and discrimination against Queer Black and People of Colour (POC) communities. The matter lies in the projection that, so long as the hyper-reliance on a homeplace remains, inequality and discrimination towards these communities endanger their physical lives and mental wellbeing, primarily due to their intersectional identities.
This piece questions architectural practices that reevaluate the status quo of violence upheld by public infrastructure, speculating on reshaping public life that enables security and inclusion during and after such crises. Questioning how current planning and design of urban areas perpetuate systemic inequalities and discrimination against these groups, it looks at what alternative planning approaches can be implemented to create more inclusive and equitable spaces.
The built environment can either facilitate or impede safe and inclusive experiences for Queer individuals, particularly those who are Black and POC, as design plays a crucial role in shaping the social dynamics of a community. I chose to investigate how architecture and city design have contributed to this marginalisation and present design strategies to address these systemic inequalities as potential avenues to address and reshape the violence perpetuated by public infrastructure.
There is hyper-reliance on a homeplace among individuals who face inequality and discrimination and experience this binary between the public and private spheres. The private is a place of safety and celebration, while the public is where the rest of the world deems them unworthy. For these individuals, it is a place where human dignity and social justice are virtually non-existent.
What is the relationship between design, power, and social justice?
We see an approach termed “Design Justice” (2020), by Sasha Costanza-Chock, where marginalised communities lead the approach and aim explicitly to challenge, rather than reproduce structural inequalities (Costanza-Chock 2020). It looks closely at social movements and community-based organisations around the world.
Through this, it demonstrates how universalist design principles and practices erase certain groups of people — specifically, those who are intersectionally disadvantaged or multiply burdened under the “matrix of domination” -white supremacist heteropatriarchy, ableism, capitalism, and settler colonialism. A better world needs to be built — one where many worlds fit, linked worlds of collective liberation and ecological sustainability (Costanza-Chock 2020).
Public infrastructure is a powerful tool for the state to assert its dominance and control over its subjects. This control is often exercised by deploying police and other forms of state violence against marginalised communities, particularly Queer Black and POC individuals. Public infrastructure also plays a role in the spatial segregation of communities, with Queer Black and POC often being relegated to the most disadvantaged and under-resourced areas.
This spatial segregation is further reinforced by the lack of investment in public infrastructure in these areas, leading to a lack of access to essential services like healthcare, education, housing, and transportation. This lack of access perpetuates the cycle of poverty and oppression, making it difficult for these individuals to break free from the systems that marginalise them.
Rethinking the status quo requires a radical reimagining of public infrastructure that centres on the needs and experiences of these communities. This includes investing in the infrastructure of historically marginalised communities and redirecting resources away from policing and other forms of state violence.
Architecture has historically reinforced and perpetuated dualistic thinking, which creates oppositions between different aspects of the built environment and between different groups of people. Dualistic thinking in architecture has resulted in the marginalisation and exclusion of certain groups Architecture has often been designed by and for a particular demographic, eternalising inequalities. Therefore, it is necessary to challenge and disrupt these dualisms.
Inclusive approaches in architecture literature
According to Ahmadi (2016), a more inclusive approach to architecture incorporates the perspectives and experiences of diverse groups This approach involves a deeper understanding of the social and cultural factors that shape the built environment and acknowledging the multiple ways space is experienced.
Building Queer Futures: A Framework for Exploring Queer-Inclusive Architecture and Urban Planning by Rory Solomon and Edward Steinfeld
This emphasises the importance of understanding the diverse experiences and needs of Queer individuals and communities, as well as the need to challenge normative assumptions and biases in design practices. It also offers strategies for designing spaces that promote visibility, safety, and community engagement, as well as providing opportunities for Queer people to be seen and heard. Designers and planners should prioritise community engagement in the design process.
This involves building relationships with community members and organisations and creating opportunities for Queer people to participate in the design and planning process to address issues related to power, privilege, and oppression. Architecture can be used to promote human dignity and social justice, and architects and urban planners need to engage with the communities they serve to design genuinely effective solutions.
Beyond Shelter: Architecture and Human Dignity by Alfredo Brillembourg and Hubert Klumpner
This book examines a similar strategy and looks at how architecture can address the challenges of poverty and social inequality in urban environments. The process allows for a more holistic approach to design that considers the social, economic, and cultural context of the communities they serve.
Designing Out Crime: A Critical Appraisal by Tim Crowe and Paul Ekblom
This article critically examines the concept of “designing out crime”, a popular approach to crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED). There is a tendency to focus on individualistic and technical solutions rather than addressing the root This can reinforce existing power relations, mainly when a small group of experts makes design decisions without meaningful participation from the wider community
It also highlights that there needs to be a more holistic understanding of the social and environmental factors contributing to crime. The emphasis must be placed on addressing broader social issues such as poverty, inequality, and discrimination, which can contribute to crime
Towards a Queer Urbanism: Notes on the Prodigiousness of Queerness by Petra Kempf
This book explores how queer practices and perspectives can inform and transform urban planning and design, emphasising the importance of recognising urban inhabitants’ diverse experiences and identities. Petra Kempf explores this in the urban environment is inherently queer, and that queerness has the potential to disrupt and subvert normative urban structures and modes of living It creates more inclusive and diverse urban spaces that can accommodate the needs and desires of various individuals and communities.
How architects can work towards positive change
The status quo of violence perpetuated by public infrastructure towards Queer Black and POC individuals has been a longstanding issue that needs to be addressed through thoughtful and intentional design practices.
Public infrastructure must be designed and implemented with an intersectional lens considering the diverse needs of individuals from different marginalised communities. The idea that ‘queering urbanism’ can help create more inclusive and diverse urban spaces allows the recognition and accommodation of diverse needs and desires. Through this process, urban spaces can become more welcoming and affirming for all individuals and communities, including those historically marginalised or excluded from urban life.
The hyper-reliance on a home place as a haven intensifies the inequality and discrimination experienced by these communities in public spaces. By questioning current planning and design practices, we can call for alternative approaches that can create more inclusive and equitable spaces. It acknowledges the significant role architecture and city design play in shaping social dynamics and emphasises the need to challenge dualistic thinking and engage with diverse communities. By underscoring the role of public infrastructure in perpetuating violence and exclusion, it highlights the importance of design strategies to address systemic inequalities.
In this quest for social justice, a more equitable and inclusive built environment can be achieved by reimagining public infrastructure, investing in historically marginalised communities, and redirecting resources away from systems of violence.
By addressing systemic inequalities in design practices and promoting intersectional approaches, society can move towards a future where public infrastructure supports the well-being and dignity of all individuals, regardless of their race, gender, class, or sexual orientation. Everyone has the right to be in a place that allows them to rediscover the human right to be themselves.
See RIBA’s other LGBT+ History Month 2025 blogs, initiatives, and resources.
