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A woman of color, Davis has experienced this mistrust firsthand and seen how even in Portland, a city lauded for its progressive urban design, communities of color can be left out of the city planning process. In the past, town hall meetings have taken place far away from Black neighborhoods, at times of day when most people were at work, and often without the input of Black community members. A political science student before she came to Parsons, Davis traces this disconnect to the city鈥檚 earliest days and notes that today 鈥淧ortland is one of the whitest cities in America.鈥�

For a recent Design+Culture Lab project called the Pulse People鈥檚 Plan, Davis鈥� firm conducted a year-long study in collaboration with historically underserved Black Portlanders. 鈥淲e interviewed individuals about what their utopia might look like,鈥� Davis explained. Using design methodologies and tools, 鈥渨e turned those statements into policy programs and initiatives. We led with folks who were most impacted, who were displaced. In terms of prototyping, we tried a variety of ways of communicating.鈥�

Many urban design nonprofits and local governments aim to address these communities but have difficulty finding and connecting with people on the ground to learn exactly what their needs are. Nonprofits often task Davis鈥� firm with devising communication strategies to help them bridge that divide and reach government agencies they want to partner with and communities they hope to help.

Davis was first exposed to collaborative design strategies by her professors at Parsons. 鈥淭hey were really great at helping me think differently about how community members can have a voice at the table. The way we鈥檙e designing cities 鈥� it鈥檚 no longer just going to be an architect designing; we need to be designing with communities,鈥� says Davis. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 think there鈥檚 a one-size-fits-all way to collaborate and reach folks.鈥�