Is the lack of diversity a problem in architecture ? In my third year as an architecture student we were given a project in which we had to take into consideration the entire environment into which we were designing. Examining existing architecture in the area, accessibility, the path of the sun, the approach to the space, and of course climate change the area is becoming second nature to us very quickly. What we need to also make second nature in our designing and planning is examining the history of a place, the people of a place, and the culture of a place for everyone.  

There are so many aspects to the practice of architecture, it’s not just designing a building it’s  also understanding how communities work  and how master planning can have an impact in the lives of so many people. In a field where there is by all accounts a detachment inside culture and race, how are architects supposed to design and understand a diverse community if many of the people designing don't come from those backgrounds and dont understand their needs?

When people in the field of architecture are from different backgrounds, they are the ones who really understand how  their communities work and how they could make them better. As we know that's not the case, in recent Black life matter demonstrations have demonstrated how, for many, prejudice and injustice still exists under circumstances close to those that existed many decades ago. It can be unbelievably overwhelming to be a minority in a predominantly white setting. Students within architecture are faced with a lack of representation in the content they receive and the people they are taught by. Being a Hispanic student in architecture is having to only learn about white predominant architects like Le’Corbuiser and not being able to relate to any of what is taught on the syllabus. Studying more about other cultures and learning about different architects from different cultures can start making a difference in the education system.