Our physical spaces shape the way we engage in our communities. How can urban design help society achieve greater accessibility, sustainability and equality?  

Rico Quirondongo, Director Office of Planning and Urban Development, City of Seattle 

The city of Seattle, Washington area is one of the expensive U.S. regions to live in.  

In the face of rising home prices and homelessness, the city has unveiled a plan for more affordable housing, public transportation and livable communities for families.  

Leading this transformation is architect and city planner Rico Quirindongo. He has served as Director of the City of Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development since 2021. Quirindongo has spent his 30-year career revitalizing historic landmarks and reimagining neighborhoods. In his current role, Quirindongo works to ensure developments in the city are inclusive of people, regardless of race or income.  

The Baltimore Aquarium brings the region’s natural habitat to the city in their wetland exhibit 

Hundreds of years ago, Baltimore, Maryland was a salt marsh with its own unique ecosystem. As the city developed, the wetlands were covered by asphalt and concrete, erasing the original habitat. Now, the National Aquarium is reintroducing marshlands right in the middle of the city – welcoming back native animals and plants and renewing the public’s interest in the local natural history.  

Toni Griffin: building better cities for everyone 

How cities are designed and planned can lead to racial segregation, socioeconomic division, and fewer opportunities for the most marginalized.  Architect and urban designer Toni Griffin is posing the question: What does a city rooted in justice and equality look like?   

Griffin is a professor of urban planning at Harvard University. She is the founder of urbanAC, a trans-disciplinary firm that specializes in urban design projects in cities with histories of social injustice.  Griffin now also shares her decades of experience and lessons learned with students at Harvard University. She has also created the Just City Lab at the university, working on the important goal of, how would communities design spaces if we put the values of equality, inclusion or equity first?