Question the stories that are told to you. All of them. Not just the ones you are already questioning but the ones that gave us our core beliefs as well. Actively seek the stories that are undertold or missing. Especially from people who are historically and systematically marginalized .
We all have implicit biases in the way we interpret and value space.
Leaders develop a literacy and lifelong practices of decoding their own biases. The environment around you is where we need to investigate and understand what values are built and reflected around you. Architecture, design or infrastructures can be linked, even unintentionally, to the continued oppression of historically marginalized peoples.
The architectural legacy of the indigenous are not preserved, represented or given preference. Currently two parts of one tribe is fighting to claim rights to land they are both native to here in SODO. Colonizers established churches throughout the land to claim ownership. This has happened in countless areas all over the globe. What are other current examples where architecture functions as a political tool?
Active process can inform the ways we occupy, move through, and construct our built environment. Consider these prompts as a series of entry points for decoding the space around you.
Ask questions
Consider the silent influences
Detangle stories
Consider names of streets and buildings
Public Narrative
Who is recognized & who is left out?