Torri Smith | M.Arch Candidate
Thesis Project | University of Michigan
Equitable Landscapes | Intersectionality between Design activism + Environmental Justice + Biology
Spring / 2021
        

Prioritizes anti-racist, grassroots environmental justice centered around urban design activism, the strengthening of community and care for local wildlife - setting the stage for global environment change.  The discriminatory practice of redlining has put black and brown bodies directly in the path of environmental harm, residents are subjected to unsafe temperatures due to urban heat island effect and severe air pollution caused by the close proximity to major highways and industrial facilities. In addition, there is a direct correlation between neighborhood wealth and the diversity, health and prosperity of the native plant and animal species.  The work explores the connections between systemic oppression, lack of biodiversity and environmental injustice in black & brown communities, proposing collaborative eco-architectural + urban rewilding expressions.