Conference: Unspoken Borders 2009 - Ecologies of Inequality

This year's theme "The Ecology of Inequality" is an examination of the systems, infrastructure and design processes that create or perpetuate the socio-economic and environmental stratification of our society. Recent national events—economic and environmental crises, the pending election etc. have forced the design professions to examine the first principle of ecology “that each living organism has an ongoing and continual relationship with every other element that makes up its environment.” An ecosystem can be defined as “any situation where there is interaction between organisms and their environment.” As quoted, Bruce Mau’s work belongs to a growing body of voices that calls for a thorough assessment of how our existing systems lead to disenfranchised communities, a growing schism between the affluent and poor, and damaged ecosystems. What is the relationship between urbanism and suburbanism? How does the ever-growing water crisis relate to race and culture? What does design relate to exploding health crises, on a global scale? Conference sessions will evaluate the social conditions, historical precedents and design decisions that have led to today's conditions. The conference will also discuss contemporary approaches that are confronting the current power structure, or ones that are seeking to establish new, justice-oriented design strategies that replace the ecology of inequality with ecologies of equity.