Design Observer :: Join the Discussion http://places.designobserver.com/feature/public-and-commons/37647/ en-us Design Observer Group 2013-01-24T15:24:46-05:00 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0 But instead of focusing on this divergence, one question to tie these together might be what strategies for progress might address the immediate issues we face (like climate change, or, in the case of my work with ADPSR, the prison-industrial complex) with the tools at hand without compromising the prospect of deeper change in the future. In other words, is it possible to organize and demand action by the U.S. government on climate change without reinforcing the power of an older “public” sphere that is in thrall to private capital. Would national climate-change legislation undermine the development of a more equitable future “common” sphere along Hardt and Negri’s lines?
Nancy suggests organizing the design professions through our existing professional organizations -- AIA, ASLA, APA, AICP – and also developing a more “networked” structure where many organizations (perhaps a “multitude”?) can work together. These are both ideas I can support. (In the area of climate change, I would add USGBC and Architecture 2030 to the list.) Currently I think it’s fair to say that our professional organizations fall within “civil society,” placing them in the “social” sphere, which is not quite the same as the “common” sphere. “Common” would give more ownership to those who transactions make up the bulk of professional activity – i.e. the membership – which would also help align the political activity of those organizations with the politics of the membership, which might help push Nancy’s agenda as well.
But it also implies a need to restructure the day-to-day activity of design professionals so that we are not only recreating the dominance of private capital or privileged institutions in our work. The growth of a “design commons” would allow us to create some bit of liberation through each line we draw, each email we send, or in our exchanges with builders and owners. There’s no need to pick just one or the other of these transformations.
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