The Latest
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Social Impact • Issue 018
Mapping Systems of Violence and Justice in Boston (ONLINE EXCLUSIVE)
Marcus (whose name has been changed here to protect his privacy) was 14 when he was arrested for the first time. After messing around with friends and stealing a car, he was taken to the station for booking and then directly to court, where he was assigned community service and probation. Throughout his probation period, he was supported by a local nonprofit that provided after-school programming, legal aid, and a mentor.
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Social Impact • Issue 018
Design Activism
On February 9, 2021, Niki Franco moderated a conversation with Ivy Climacosa, Dustin Gibson, Annika Hansteen-Izora, and Liz Ogbu around the new protest movements that have arisen in reaction to the ongoing scourge of police brutality in the United States. As designers and activists, the participants were invited to talk about their own creative practices, including, according to Franco, “The relationship between artists, designers, and folks on the ground.” Together, the group addressed the various crises people of color experience in this country, including, “the spatial dynamics that contribute to racism, classism, anti-homelessness, ableism,” and more.
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Social Impact • Issue 018
Futures of Policing
In the future, police could use remote technology to peacefully disarm suspects without ever firing a shot. Or perhaps police will use lasers to slice off the legs of even nonviolent offenders. In the future, police forces may expand, but their demographics could reflect the multiculturality of a minority-white America. Or maybe drones will replace police altogether. If they don’t, community gardens potentially will.
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Social Impact • Issue 018
Designed for Harm
The conversation about policing is a Molotov cocktail of trauma, bias, propaganda, and cognitive dissonance. Many Americans are raised to think of the police, and by extension policing, as a mechanism to protect and serve. Yet, this stands in stark contrast to the experiences of those who interact with one of the nation’s largest and most dominant civil services as a purveyor of fear and dominance.
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Social Impact • Issue 018
Abolish the Cop Inside Your (Designer's) Head
American policing has always faced crises: of legitimacy, of efficacy, of budgeting, of racist discrimination, and of heinous violence. Over the last year, radical calls to defund, disarm, and disband police departments drowned out the historically widely-accepted explanations of these crises. Black women have always led these calls, but in 2020 much of the U.S. public heard them for the first time.
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Social Impact
The Policing Issue
A special Design Museum Magazine issue on how one of the most powerful institutions functions by design
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Blog • Workplace Innovation
Redesigning Coworking for the Age of Social Distancing
As we begin the second year of the pandemic and the worldwide shift to remote work, we reflect on the process that went into adapting a coworking business for a new era. The power of a long and trusting relationship allowed for quick action and little downtime. With careful consideration of brand and culture the changes that were implemented a year ago are still working today.
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Social Impact • Issue 018
How Can I Help?
Shanti and Stephanie discuss mutual aid's historical and current purpose: to support communities when other systems fail.
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Social Impact • Issue 018
Letter from the Editor
The Policing Issue's Guest Editor shares the story behind the publication of this special issue.
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