What does it mean to belong?

For the purposes of this fellowship, we’ll use Peter Block’s definition. In his book, Community: The Structure of Belonging, he defines belonging as “the experience of being at home in the broadest sense of the phrase.”

But what is home?

In The Architecture of Happiness, Alain de Botton describes home as “merely any place that succeeds in making more consistently available to us the important truths which the wider world ignores, or which our distracted and irresolute selves have trouble holding onto.” Maybe it is easier for “home” to succeed in such a feat. It is our own, after all. But could we not also claim the cities in which we live as our own?

Imagine the possibility and potential in a city’s skyscape to do the same. Imagine the opportunities for a space to be designed more accessibly, more equitably, appealing and connecting to a wider population of its citizens. Imagine a built environment that has the capacity to connect us back to our collective history, our values, ourselves.

Now more than ever, the built environment has a growing responsibility to provide equitable spaces that belong to all the city’s inhabitants and to reflect the ever-evolving nature of the culture created within its limits. This inquiry holds tremendous possibility for uncovering key insights that result in more culturally sensitive, historically reflective, inclusive, and connected design— and as a result, more connected communities. It is critical that we as architects and designers approach the design and planning of our city in a way that is responsible, equitable, and considers the whole of our citizens.

This fellowship seeks to investigate the following:

What are the opportunities of the built environment to foster feelings of belonging?

Andrew Wyeth. Evening at Kuerners, 1970, drybrush on paper.