It’s no coincidence that Covid-19 has disproportionately sickened and killed members of demographic groups — people who are black, Indigenous and Latino; who are homeless; who are immigrants — that have been targets of systemic segregation that increased their vulnerability. It’s also not hard to imagine the pandemic, and a person’s relative risk of infection, being used to justify new versions of these discriminatory practices. — NYT Magazine
Kim Tingley, spoke with Joel Sanders, Hansel Bauman, Mabel O. Wilson and other academics and designers about how architecture could adapt to address issues of public health and universal design in a post-COVID-19 world.
More about MIXdesign's COVID Case Study here
9 Comments
"It’s no coincidence that Covid-19 has disproportionately sickened and killed members of demographic groups — people who are black, Indigenous and Latino; who are homeless; who are immigrants — that have been targets of systemic segregation that increased their vulnerability."
That almost sounds like Covid-19 is racist! But the virus mostly targets the people in bad shape with prior (known or unknown) medical conditions, unfortunately that often means poor people without medical insurance or people who are very reluctant to seek medical help for financial reasons. And unfortunately Black, Indigenous and Latino people run a higher risk of being poor in America. But when you look at for instance Asian Americans and immigrants, who are doing even better than White Americans job-wise and financially, you'll see they're less affected by Covid-19 than any other demographic group. So is it because of systemic segregation and racism or do socioeconomic factors play a bigger role?
'Poor kids are just as bright as white kids'...
Did you know that making something illegal means it no longer exists? Look it up!
More interesting that the usual NYT drivel, but many of the conclusions, especially from Sanders, are puzzling -- so things were really better before indoor plumbing and Victorian era bathrooms? Just because you have good intentions, and are more "inclusive" in your thinking, doesn't mean the ideas are good. Do we really want completely open bathrooms? That sounds even worse than what we have now--controlled facilities with mostly good deep-ingrained social customs. There were pretty clear reasons to separate sexes. Doesn't mean we can't come up with better ideas -- but this aint it. Try again.
What would be better is to design bathrooms with open air access for ventilation, and more--not less--separation from other users.
Am very suspicious whenever the NYT tries to insert a completely separate political agenda into a COVID piece -- and architects who conspicuously flagellate the profession. "Architects aren't trained to care about end users" -- speak for your self, Yale guy! That's what it takes to get in the NYT I guess.
Also 100 points for Vishaan Chakrabarti for getting a quote in every NYT article for the past 10 years! It pays to be a woke developer!
Looks like you accidentally put air quotes around incllusive. Almost like you meant it sarcastically. But shit, that couldn't be it, right? You're so open and ... "inclusive."
It is a bizzarely Sanders-focused article. Is he the best person to speak on the subject or does he just so happen to be friends with the journalist?
Sanders and Chakrabarti seem to have PR people focused exclusively on getting into the New York media. Good for them! But it doesn't speak well of NYT journalists motive and drive to get opinions and expertise outside of the MetroNorth.
And SneakyPete, my biggest fan, thanks for noticing the quotes. Obviously you didn't take the point that saying you are "inclusive" doesn't make it so -- its just a word. I'm sure we will never learn our lessons after the "green" movement of LEED skyscrapers that used much more energy than advertised. Is it really "inclusive" to drive away most sane people who don't want people watching them go to the bathroom on the street corner?
You're so "smart."
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