-An Introduction-
THE WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT NETWORK (WEN)
To resolve an environmental justice claim, one must examine how various factors are directly and indirectly related to that claim. Stakeholders need to be present and active in creating solutions that are not only equitable, but also realistic and sustainable. The environmental justice claim I seek to explore pertains to housing justice. In Milwaukee County, over 1 in 5 black women who are renters report having been evicted in their adult life. This is compared to 1 in 12 Hispanic women and 1 in 15 white women according to Milwaukee renters study (2009-2011). Environmental justice for these women would be access to housing. The community being analyzed is located on the Northwest side of Milwaukee Wisconsin-in a neighborhood known as Center Peace. There are an abundance of vacant homes that exist within this neighborhood. In fact, within a 2-block radius amid Wright and Clark on 38th street, there are 18 vacancies—three of which have been foreclosed. There is a total of 56 homes located within those 2-blocks, meaning over 30% of the housing stock is not being utilized. While these vacancies continue to contribute to the declining property value of the entire community, there is a lack of access to housing stock that accommodates the needs of single-mothers, specifically. According to Camille Mays-a single mother living in the neighborhood:
“(she) was a working mother—working full time, over time, and doing what (she) was supposed to do. By the time (she) was done paying everything, it was like (she) was working below poverty. That’s a lot of single-moms. It’s hard and you don’t get a lot of help. How the houses could come into play with the single moms is because of the situations that they end up in, those (single-mothers) are often the victims of slum lords and evictions and things happening—because they are often forced to live in whatever kind of condition." -Italics mine.
Taking into consideration that single, low-income women are greatly affected by eviction, I argue that single-low income women are greatly affected by lack of access to housing. I would like to explore the possibility of redesigning vacant properties in the Center Peace Neighborhood to provide access to housing for single-mothers. By form, this adaptive reuse strategy should mediate the environmental justice claim that this community holds by providing single-mothers with what they need to sustain their homes more effectively.
“(she) was a working mother—working full time, over time, and doing what (she) was supposed to do. By the time (she) was done paying everything, it was like (she) was working below poverty. That’s a lot of single-moms. It’s hard and you don’t get a lot of help. How the houses could come into play with the single moms is because of the situations that they end up in, those (single-mothers) are often the victims of slum lords and evictions and things happening—because they are often forced to live in whatever kind of condition." -Italics mine.
Taking into consideration that single, low-income women are greatly affected by eviction, I argue that single-low income women are greatly affected by lack of access to housing. I would like to explore the possibility of redesigning vacant properties in the Center Peace Neighborhood to provide access to housing for single-mothers. By form, this adaptive reuse strategy should mediate the environmental justice claim that this community holds by providing single-mothers with what they need to sustain their homes more effectively.
STAKEHOLDERS
CONCEPT
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FOCUS OF WEN
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What if we re-think the way we live together in a duplex apartment? What would happen if your neighbor was also your baby sitter on the weekend, and you were their cook during the mid-week? What if the rooms in a duplex were organized in a way that allowed your neighbor to have access to parts of your home? I would like to explore how this could work. The concept of the Women's Empowerment Network formed out of conversations and experiences I have had in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These encounters provided me with valuable and necessary knowledge regarding the human impact of foreclosure and eviction. I have been told stories about the obstacles single-mothers face while trying to sustain their livelihoods. I've been told about struggles accessing housing, and the even greater struggle to maintain it. Given my architectural background, I began to ponder how design could mitigate some of the challenges single-mothers face. I decided that the current housing typology needs to be re-imagined.
In Milwaukee, there is an abundance of duplexes—especially in the majority black, north side neighborhoods I conducted my research in. Instead of perpetuating this house type, we should be constructing a multi-family living situation with a series of compartmentalized, shared spaces. This new housing typology will allow a more stable environment for young children—and for the single-mothers who raise them. It will encourage the presence of a new kind of community culture. The Women's Empowerment Network will greatly impacts many facets of the because the strategies employed to create this network examines how design influences community culture. With that information, the designs created establishes safe and productive spaces for people to connect and build. WEN will promote the development of thinking about living spaces and the built environment in new ways. These spaces ultimately promote empowerment and establish a foundation to build wealth. SITE CONTEXT
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SIGNIFICANCE
The ideas I am establishing deal with architectural techniques and theories, but they also form around an urban planning perspective. A land trust is a common known phrase in urban planning. What is less commonly discussed is a family-trust, and the implications surrounding what that could be. The first step in this plan to re-think living spaces would be to establish the new typology. The next step would be to establish how this typology generates wealth. The easiest way to do this is to zone the land beneath the building in a way that creates multiple shareholders. This is where a family-trust would become more relevant to sustaining wealth and economic mobility.
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PLANNING PROCESS
The three most prominent variables involved in the creation of The Women’s Empowerment Network are research, community engagement, and design.
This visual program represents the intersectionality between various activities that were performed to produce the final design solutions. Each stage of the planning process is determined by its relationship to the three main variables: Research, Community Engagement, and Design. The y-axis showcases the order in which each activity was performed in terms of the specific type of activity. The x-axis shows the order of from which the activity was performed in relationship between the first and last stage in the design process. The connecting lines and colors represents how every variable is directly and indirectly related to one another.
This visual program represents the intersectionality between various activities that were performed to produce the final design solutions. Each stage of the planning process is determined by its relationship to the three main variables: Research, Community Engagement, and Design. The y-axis showcases the order in which each activity was performed in terms of the specific type of activity. The x-axis shows the order of from which the activity was performed in relationship between the first and last stage in the design process. The connecting lines and colors represents how every variable is directly and indirectly related to one another.
VARIABLES CRIPPLING PROGRESS |
STRATEGY
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Promote ownership. The first step is research-gathering interview, doing site analysis, and understanding design solutions that are already being employed. It's important to figure out who the stakeholders are and get their opinions regarding what should be done and how to do it. Once the preliminary research is complete, gaining partners is necessary.
There are a plethora of resources necessary for this network to be established. There are also a plethora of organizations and institutions that have the capacity to provide these resources. After bringing the right partners to the table, zoning is important. Since the Women's Empowerment Network will be embedded within already existing residential areas, understanding how to zone the properties so that multiple, unrelated people can share ownership is important. Establishing a land and/or family trust is important. Establishing zoning permits for the various programming embedded within the house is important. The last step (right now), is design. The design of the first intervention was a three-phase process. In the end, a housing typology was created that incorporates a variety of diverse activity. |