Department of Beloved Places

Project Partner: Asian Arts Initiative 

Dates: Sept 2016-Sept 2017.

Category: Urban Planning, Neighborhood Visioning, Cultural Planning

Project Location: Philadelphia, PA

People: Power: Place was a cultural planning process that created a shared vision of Chinatown North/Callowhill. 

This cultural plan will encourage people’s participation to strengthen the neighborhood’s standing as a vibrant hub of cultural production. This cultural plan will offer recommendations that support and advance the equitable growth and sustainable development of the neighborhood. 

Built on a strong foundation of creativity and innovation, and a history of political struggle and community organizing, the community-driven process, the cultural planning process is an opportunity to strengthen the social networks of residents, businesses, cultural institutions, outside stakeholders, and others that are committed to the just growth of the neighborhood. Additionally, the cultural planning process can begin to reconnect the neighborhood to Chinatown and repair divisions created during the construction of the Vine Street Expressway.

The full report can be found here.

Project Partner: Sustainable Little Tokyo

Dates: 2017

Category: Urban Planning, Neighborhood Visioning, Cultural Planning

Project Location: Los Angeles, CA

Sustainable Little Tokyo 2020 (SLT2020) is a community-driven initiative to provide a range of immediate improvements and short-terms actions that strengthen and support the cultural, economic, environmental development of the historic neighborhood by 2020.

For six months in 2017, we asked community leaders and advocates, residents, seniors, small businesses, and visitors what they would like to see in Little Tokyo by the year 2020. Using engagement tools such as arts-based model making, mapping, street-side inquiries, and door-to-door surveys, we had over 230 people share their visions for the neighborhood. By 2020, we would like to celebrate the vibrant history of Little Tokyo while continuing to fight for the self-determination and equitable development of the neighborhood that serves the people of this community.

Project Partner: Obama Foundation

Dates: Feb 2019-Dec 2019, pilot in Spring 2020

Category: Equity-centered curriculum

Project Location: Online

In collaboration with the Barak Obama Foundation, I designed Assets in Action, an online training as part of their Community Leadership Online initiative.

Assets in Action is a free six week training for young people looking to create change in their own communities by leveraging its existing strengths to make positive change.

Curriculum focuses on:

• Defining your community and identify your community’s valuable assets.

• Understanding your community’s dynamics, including its demographics and power structures.

• Evaluating your connections within your community and identify ways to strengthen ties.

• Developing effective, equitable ways to build new connections.

PROJECT PARTNERS: Community Services Unlimited (Owner), Robert Ginsberg (Food Service Architect), Fruchtman and Associates (Mechanical and Plumbing Engineers), Silver Roth Associates (Electrical Engineer), Ibarra Engineering (Structural Engineer), Mata Construction (General Contractor)

DATES: April 2015-September 2018

CATEGORY: Architecture and Construction, Architect of Record

PROJECT LOCATION: South Los Angeles, CA

The Paul Robeson Community Wellness Center is the project of Community Services Unlimited. It is the first beyond organic market and social enterprise cafe in South Los Angeles.

Community Services Unlimited (CSU) envisions equitable, healthful, and sustainable communities that are self-reliant, inter-relating and where every individual has the support and resources needed to develop to their fullest capacity. 

PROJECT PARTNERS: Public Matters, East LA Renaissance Academy LAUSD, LA Times High School Insider, and University of Southern California

DATES: January 2016-June 2016

CATEGORY: Design Education

PROJECT LOCATION: East Los Angeles, CA

Students from East LA Renaissance Academy created the East L.A. version of the "Map of the Stars and Landmarks".  The project focused on narratives that celebrate the community and highlight important people and places that strengthen the East L.A. community.  Students spent a semester interviewing, writing, drawing, and designing the map, with the goal to share the importance of their neighborhood with many others.

ELARA Students: Desiree Avila, Lisandro Camargo-Mendez, Robert Ivan Castañeda, Alexander Flores, Angelica Fuentes Sandoval, Ivonne Alexis Gomez, Daniel Hernandez, Jiovany Huerta, Brian Leon, Rafael Leon, Angelica Lomeli, Dave Lomeli, Jennifer Lopez, Nancy Lopez, Andrea Manjarrez, Anthony Medel, Valeria Medina, Fergie Mendoza, Diana Morales, Daniel Moreno, Jesus Palalia, Brandon Perez, Jimmy Isaac Perez, Annalis Brailyn Radilla, Alejandra Mariel Ramos, Jackelin Rios Zavala, Maritza Rodriguez, Jamie Salas-Duarte, Giovanni Sandoval, Mariana Soriano-Perez, Deanna Trujeque, Guillermo Tzarax, Guadalupe Velez, Cesar Verdugo

ELARA Teacher // Assistant Principal, Martin Buchman

Greetings from East L.A. Crew: Andy Alvarez, Public Matters Urban Futures Lab Fellow, Mike Blockstein, Public Matters, Reanne Estrada, Public Matters, Theresa Hwang, Dept. of Places, Katie Jagodka, USC Intern, Evan Kort, USC Intern, Justin Pascone, USC Intern, Shirley Ramirez, UC Riverside Policy Intern

Program Support: Greetings from East L.A. is supported by Exploring The Arts, East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy at Esteban E. Torres High School and the USC Price School of Public Policy L.E.A.P. Program.

Spanish Translation: Lorena De Corzo, Clara Mejia, Yair Ramos, Sergio Soto

Special Thanks: Grace Cruz, Education Specialist, Center for Powerful Public Schools, Fernando Delgado, Assistant Field Deputy/Caseworker,Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis (D-1), KeAndra Dodds, Transportation Deputy, Office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis (D-1), Kyle Finck, Special Section Lead, LA Times High School Insider, Daniela Gerson, Director, Community Engagement, LA Times High School Insider, Carmen Sainz, Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning, Elon Schoenholz Photography, David Sloane, Ph.D., Professor, USC Price School of Public Policy

PROJECT PARTNERS:  Our Skid Row was a project of the Skid Row Housing Trust.  Community Partners: Downtown Women's Center, Lamp Community Arts Program, Los Angeles Community Action Network, Los Angeles Poverty Dept, United Coalition East Prevention Project

Skid Row Resident Working Group members: Chella Colemen, Kenneth Davis, Louise Mbella, Walter Fears, Wendy Gaitor, Tom Grode, Anthony Haynes, Silvia Hernandez, Leonard Kraus, Suzette Shaw, Harvey Shells, Brent Smith, Twin, Carmen Vega, Pam Walls, Buck Winston

DATES: May 2014-Oct 2015.

CATEGORY: Urban Planning and Design

PROJECT LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA

Our Skid Row was a project that Theresa initiated while she was the Director of Community Design and Planning at the Skid Row Housing Trust.  

Our Skid Row is a resident-driven neighborhood vision for a vibrant and equitable Skid Row.  It is a collective vision that redesigns Skid Row and imagines new ways that a city can develop to prioritize people and place. Our Skid Row celebrates the history and residents that call this neighborhood home.  Over a year and a half, residents gathered, taught lessons on the struggles of the neighborhood, shared stories about the importance of Skid Row, and designed solutions to improve the area and enhance the community for the existing residents.

Skid Row is a 50 block and 0.4 square mile neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles that has an estimated total population of 10,000 residents. (2010 Census) Over two-thirds of the population is male. Approximately 60% are African-American and the median household income is just over $11,000, less than a quarter of the Los Angeles average of $46,000. (2011 City Data) Approximately, over one-third of the population is homeless, with over 3500 people living in temporary beds in shelters or on the streets (2014 Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority), making Skid Row the site of the highest concentration of homeless individuals in the United States.

Although historically a transient community, Skid Row has grown into a place of permanence with long-time residents that have created a strong social fabric that supports extensive grassroots organizing efforts to strengthen the neighborhood. The physical infrastructure does not appropriately support the equitable growth of the community, and the perceived narrative of Skid Row does not reflect the culture of resiliency and innovation. 

The development process for Our Skid Row was rooted in the expertise of the existing resident community. We implemented a spectrum of participatory activities with multiple points of entry for engagement to ensure there were several and varied opportunities for participation. Programs included community-engaged asset mapping, participatory visioning sessions, a mobile participation station, and design resources workshops.  We held over 25 opportunities for involvement that ranged from sidewalk interactions to 4 hour-long design charrettes. Attendance and participation was measured at over 600 engagements, with over 380 unique participants, representing over 40 different communities across Los Angeles County, with many participants returning for several events. 

PROJECT PARTNERS: various

DATES: October 2015-present

CATEGORY: Community Organizing, Architecture

PROJECT LOCATION: Skid Row, Los Angeles, CA

The Skid Row Design Collective is a group of advocates, artists, designers, and activists, that use the arts and community organizing to improve public spaces in Skid Row Los Angeles.

PAST PARTNERS: National Endowment for the Arts, Design Futures, Commonfield Miami

CATEGORY: Facilitation, Strategic thinking

PROJECT LOCATION: various

Theresa designs and facilitates reflective workshops on various topics, including racial justice and strategic frameworks. She creates an intentional space for dialogue scaffolded with activities that stir ideas and self-awareness.

In January 2019, Theresa curated and hosted the Design Futures faculty convening focused on White Supremacy in Design. In the day long convening, over 35 participants deeply engaged in topics around whiteness in design education, unintentional white supremacist practices in design institutions, and ways of imagining spaces for collective liberation as the antidote.

In November 2018, Theresa co-facilitated Creative Placemaking Knowledge Building Convening, a national gathering funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Kresge Foundation.

In October 2016, Theresa was invited by Commonfield, a convening of progressive arts organizations, practices, and cultural workers, to facilitate several 90 minute sessions that created a focused space to reflect on oppression, privilege, and their impact on the arts community.

In January 2016, Theresa facilitated a workshop on equity and racial justice with the faculty of Design Futures.  The workshop reflected how community-engaged design could directly support racial justice.

PROJECT PARTNERS: Leonardo Bravo (Big City Forum), Ron Espiritu (Camino Nuevo-Miramar High School Ethnic Studies Teacher), Richardo Palvecino (photography), Margaret Medina (creative writing), Louis Alvarado (graphic design), Form follows Function (documentary)

DATES: Feb 2016-June 2016

CATEGORY: Design Education

PROJECT LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA

Big City Lab is the design education initiative of Big City Forum. Through Big City Lab, Camino Nuevo Charter Academy- Miramar High School students explore the history, storylines, and social conditions embedded in their neighborhoods by examining issues related to identity, storytelling, social justice, public space, and cultural capital.  

Theresa Hwang facilitated the architecture and urban design portion of the curriculum.  She took the students on a field trip to asset map and re-explore their neighborhood of MacArthur Park.  Students conducted interviews on the street, drew observations of the streets, and made qualitative assessments about the people and places they observed. After their field trip, students complied their analysis into asset maps that shared their findings of their neighborhood.

Using their field analysis, the second half of the module focused on student-generated design solutions to some of the issues they observed, including how to create more access to healthy food, how to support indigenous cultures, ways to prevent gang violence, along with the incorporation of more arts and culture into the area.

PROJECT PARTNERS: Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, Bunker Hill Community College

DATES: April 2015-Jan 2016

CATEGORY: Community Engagement, Architecture

PROJECT LOCATION: Boston, MA

Theresa led the community engagement and conceptual design phase of the development of a new community arts space in Boston Chinatown.

The community engagement strategy was designed to include multiple voices and stakeholders at various stages of the design process to influence the development of the space while generating a sense of shared ownership, support, and buy-in for the new cultural space. Engagement activities included visioning with youth, hands-on intergenerational model-making workshop, and sidewalk interactions at the August Moon street festival. Over 190 people were engaged in the process.

The Equity Collective is  Barbara Brown Wilson (University of Virginia), Christine Gaspar (CUP), Jess Garz (Surdna Foundation), Jess Zimbabwe (Rose Center for Public Leadership, National League of Cities), Katie Swenson (Enterprise Community Partners), Liz Ogbu (Studio O), Nicole Joslin (Austin Community Design and Development Center), Theresa Hwang (Dept of Places)

As a group of design professionals and educators, they are raising the bar of community-engaged design.

Past projects include:

Design for Equity articles series on Impact Design Hub

Dick and Rick: A visual primer on Social Impact Design

PROJECT PARTNERS: Enterprise Community Partners, Skid Row Housing Trust

DATES: Sept 2012

CATEGORY: Design Education

PROJECT LOCATION: online

The Participatory Design Toolkit is a guide to engage residents and other stakeholders in the design and development of affordable housing. This was a culminating publication of Theresa's Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship.

Theresa Hwang teaches undergraduate urban design and architecture studios at Woodbury University. Past projects include: students explored design possibilities for the revitalization of Skid Row while learning participatory design processes and community engagement techniques.

“We are Monumental” was my graduate school thesis, advised by Margaret Crawford at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. This project explored how architecture could be a platform for political and cultural identity while supporting community-building programs. Using Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown’s work on vernacular architecture, Margaret Crawford’s Everyday Urbanism, and Russian Constructivism as starting points, I moved towards leveraging architecture to amplify social movements and manifest the power of the people. The thesis proposal expands the programs of an Asian American bookstore that at the time, I was deeply involved with. Through participatory design workshops with collective members and community supporters, we crafted a long-term and sustained vision for a community hub that supported Asian American movement building.