To members of the designed and built environment,

In my undergraduate Current Health Problems class, our professor would write “malnourished child in Africa” on one side of a long white board and “contaminated drinking water in Michigan” on the other. We were tasked with linking the two, finding the ways that these seemingly individual and isolated health issues were rooted in systemic injustices that had ripple effects worldwide. We always succeeded in finding connections.

I am reminded of this activity today when I reflect on what is happening in Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, and countless other places not making headlines. I have struggled to identify how a nonprofit focused on access to architecture and design in Oregon is related to genocide in Palestine or ethnic cleansing in Sudan. It is easy to say that it isn’t, that we aren’t, but we are. As professionals who have dedicated our careers to the built environment, it is crucial that we also understand how systematic efforts to destroy a population also includes intentionally destroying the shelters, monuments, healing and spiritual centers, and green spaces of the people targeted.

Our Equity Statement reads: At the Architecture Foundation of Oregon, we believe that architecture and the built environment can address our most challenging problems, and that Oregon is stronger when more people from diverse backgrounds participate in designing the places that shape our world. We believe that design should consider diverse points of view, and reflect these views, in a built environment that provides access and equity for all. We have intentionally worked to align ourselves with oppressed populations and used our power to include more voices in the design of the spaces that we occupy.

As I have worked to better understand what is happening internationally, I have come to understand three main areas where the built environment is impacted or can have an impact. First, as mentioned above, the destruction of buildings is intrinsically linked to the destruction of people themselves. Second, the construction of intermittent structures is essential to the rescue and survival of people, from refugee shelters to emergency medical facilities. Third, the reconstruction of a space must have the right decision makers at the helm, especially in locations where the aim is to evacuate and claim land to be rebuilt by the oppressor.

I ask that you, members of the AFO community, actively participate in combatting the violence occurring worldwide by joining me in educating yourself about these conflicts and their impact on the built environment. I have included the links to the articles that I read when preparing this piece as a resource guide to you. Please note that this is not an exhaustive evaluation of conflicts and humanitarian crises worldwide. I try and fail to comprehend the amount of human suffering taking place on our planet today. The resources below are directed towards conflict in three geographic and cultural areas that have had the most impact in my life and the lives of my team members. If you have additional resources to share, please send them to us.

I also ask that you think about the three areas of impact that war and conflict have on the built environment. I encourage you to think about ways in which you can use your talents and voice to provide resources to those who are responding to destruction and are working to rebuild. I also included some action-oriented links for you to explore for aid and accountability.

Finally, I ask you to find the connections, however long and complex they are, between you and your work and the destruction of oppressed people and cultures worldwide. If you would like to share your connection from Oregon to Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, or other areas of conflict, please feel free to reach out to me directly: erica@af-oregon.org

Thank you for reading.

Erica Rife

Executive Director

Architecture Foundation of Oregon