The Colors of Nature research project aims to discover ways of making outdoor environments and wilderness areas more attractive, accommodating, and useful to a broader range of people. In collaboration with the Design Laboratory (D-Lab) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the D Co-Design & Social Intervention Workshop utilized codesign methods to better understand the experiences, activities, aspirations, and related problems of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). This audience’s interactions with nature have been primarily conditioned by white environmental organizations serving the white middle class. Over time, these organizations evolved into resilient systems that marginalize Black and Latinx populations, presenting complex structural challenges fraught with uncertainty due to intangible emotional, cultural, and social factors difficult to measure and control. In collaboration with members of the BIPOC community, our team developed design principles for creating a safe and welcoming forest preserve for BIPOC visitors to enjoy.

Designers : Elizabeth Graff, Latrina Lee, Luce James, Takayuki Kato

Course : CoDesign & Social Intervention Workshop

Faculty : Prof. Christopher Rudd

Project Partner : Cook County Forest Preserve