Land and Equity

Land, Equity, and Teaching (Calderon, Arroyo, Jojola, Noorani) - The means by which land is acquired, apportioned, controlled, owned, and preserved in this country have embedded within them our national legacies of racism. Land and race are historically intertwined in this country. Meet artists and professors whose practices seek to reconfigure these disparities that have existed historically and hear the ways in which they are radically reimagining land control in their communities. Learn how to challenge the historical relationship between land and race through such examples as cooperatives, land trusts, banks, vacant lot possession, and other tactics. And learn how universities can address these relationships and issues in their curricula, courses, and community-based learning.



Leading with community (Barash, Song) - In Boston, an ambitious partnership among the Boston Foundation, Harvard Graduate School of Design, and place-based community organizations intends to disrupt land development patterns. Through the lens of equitable placemaking and placekeeping, Harvard and TBF are supporting the capacity of communities to mitigate market forces, strengthen civic infrastructures, and express cultural identity. In its pilot phase, this community-determined, cooperative model is already generating learning and building power throughout neighborhoods.