Title: Citizen Architects and Facilitative Community Leadership
Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Time: 12:00-1:30pm EST
Please join AIA WNC (Western North Carolina, formerly AIA Asheville) and The Architects Foundation's Communities by Design Program for an online webinar exploring the challenges of public participation in communities marked by mistrust and conflict, especially after disasters. This session will highlight effective processes, the role of architects in driving policy changes, and provide techniques, tools, and resources for enhancing public participation skills. Don't miss this chance to learn and make an impact!
Presenters: Joel Mills and Erin Simmons
Course Description:
The community contexts in which we work today are defined overwhelmingly by pervading public mistrust, conflict, and controversy, and community opposition. When disaster strikes, these dynamics are often amplified. Last year, there were 27 disaster events with at least $1 billion in damages across the country. Controversy, community opposition, and legal challenges pose significant and costly burdens to achieving our collective goals, especially following disaster experiences. This session will provide an overview of the key challenges in the field of public participation today, including post-disaster community experiences. It will identify core components of healthy processes that can lead to more successful community outcomes with broad community support. It will also describe how architects can play important roles in scaling community outcomes for lasting policy change. The session will address technique selection, as well as tools, resources, and networks where participants can develop skills in public participation.
CEU: 3 HSW Credits
Learning Objectives
1) Describe key attributes of public participation that differentiate it from other tools, such as community engagement, community organizing, public relations, and advocacy.
2) Explore common challenges that are unique to post-disaster design contexts and their key constraints and pressures.
3) Apply analysis to current practice barriers and their potential solutions.
4) Apply strategies for increasing trust and collaboration with the public for more sustainable public process outcomes.
5) Apply lessons learned from case studies.
REGISTER HERE: Citizen Architects & Facilitative Community Leadership Tickets, Wed, May 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
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Jennifer Heim, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Fitwel Amb.
Associate, Sustainable Design Leader
McMillan Pazdan Smith
Asheville NC
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