Written by:
Jake Stephenson-Bartley
This series of blogs draws on my own experience of architecture and the built environment, educationally and through practice. Inspired by an invitation to talk at MSA foundation year about participatory processes under the topic of Wider Issues within the built environment.
There are many challenges within the built environment that affect the way in which we take part as a citizen or community member, design and build for others, and how we are educated on our journey to becoming an architect, or designer more generally.
This series of blogs will focus on three specific challenges that persist within the built environment. Firstly, there is a lack of visibility of black and black mixed heritage individuals within the industry. Secondly, we must consider the role of participatory processes and community engagement in the design of our built environments. Finally, as professionals in this field, we need to address the climate emergency and the ecological crisis.
This is the first of three think pieces to serve as thoughts for reflection and to challenge us to think critically about who and how we shape the built environment.
As a person of colour with mixed Caribbean heritage, it wasn’t until nearly seven years into my architectural journey, during my Master’s, that I encountered a mentor who shared a similar background to my own. Consciously, I was aware of the isolation, much like walking into a room where you’re the only person of colour. However, I hadn’t fully realised how deeply this lack of representation had influenced my perception of the built environment and the ways in which I chose to shape my studies. The experience underscored a critical truth: you cannot be what you cannot see. Recognising someone like me in a position of influence was profoundly validating and highlighted the importance of representation. It also made me reflect on how the built environment has often reinforced racial injustice, shaping not only physical spaces but also the narratives and opportunities available to marginalised communities.
The built environment, and specifically the architecture profession, demonstrates a clear lack of representation. According to the Architects Registration Board (ARB) in 2022, only 1% of architects are Black or Black British, with other ethnic groups similarly underrepresented. In stark contrast, 88% of architects registered with ARB are white. When combined with the lack of representation of women in the industry, Black or Black British women account for 0.4% of registered architects. With such evident lack of representation how can our places truly reflect the diversity of those around us?
These statistics highlight how race can significantly influence our landscapes and built environments and how the cultural symbols and structures we construct typically reflect the values of a privileged demographic or cultural group. This disparity is exacerbated when architects and built environment professionals work in isolation, without participatory processes that invite diverse communities to shape their surroundings.
The physicality of race and space is further evident in structural inequalities across housing education and health, which can often exemplify racialised practices within governance and policy. Minority communities often face compounded housing challenges, experiencing greater levels of need (Gulliver, 2016), homelessness (Bramley & Fitzpatrick, 2018), and are more likely to live in poor-quality or overcrowded accommodation. As architects, built environment professionals and designers we are complicit in these structural inequalities and racial injustice. Race and the built environment cannot be separated.
By diversifying and acknowledging these wider issues with representation as a starting point, and understanding the profound effects on minority groups and communities. Might we be able to nurture and redefine, encourage and advocate for more diversity in architecture? It’s a duty that belongs to us all.
If we pursue this path, we might discover more landscapes where we truly belong, places that reflect the richness of multiple identities. It’s crucial to nurture and heal our shared spaces, where cities, public areas, and the equitable distribution of health, education, and housing are shared more fairly among all individuals, fostering a greater sense of belonging.
There are many practices already beginning to reflect and diversify the built environment sector and the spaces we occupy, such as: POor Collective, Sahra Hersi, Resolve Collective, Decosom, Sound Advice, Black Females in Architecture. In addition to new research and frameworks which can support a decolonial lens of activating and shaping places. One such example is a new piece of research funded by Arup on Racial Equity and the City.
We should always be asking ourselves why there is such a lack of diversity and where does it start?
References:
All visuals by Jake Stephenson-Bartley, unless stated otherwise.
https://i-sphere.site.hw.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2021/08/A.Bristow-Final-report.pdf
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/sites/bartlett/files/race_and_space_pdf_final.pdf