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Urban Design Institute

The Urban Design Institute is a new interdisciplinary research initiative of the Division of Architecture and Design. The Institute will collaborate with government agencies; for-profit and non-profit corporations; and other higher education institutions to support curricular innovation and scholarly research on the built environment in Providence and surrounding communities.

The RISD Urban Design Institute will address a broad range of topics facing cities today: land use planning, economic development, public infrastructure, housing, education, and public health. Projects will be undertaken in collaboration with an extensive network of partner institutions in government, business, the non-profit sector, and academia.

We will create forums for discussion and experimentation where design can facilitate consensus-building around difficult urban and infrastructural problems.

We will be a laboratory where partners and stakeholders can experiment in a low-cost, low-risk setting, allowing participants to pursue concrete and pragmatic solutions, outside the constraints of traditional professional practice and client relationships.

We will seek out, and respond to, urban design challenges, collaborating with our partners to undertake site research; design alternative solutions to infrastructural, environmental, and other problems; conduct charrettes; and serve as a resource through all stages of a project from conceptual research to feasibility studies to consensus building to final implementation.

We will provide educational opportunities to students at RISD and elsewhere while expanding professional development opportunities for faculty, research staff, and local professionals.

We will serve as a resource for local organizations and institutions, providing access to academic resources and expertise on architecture, urbanism, and design.

artist

Elizabeth Greenleaf

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