2026 Spatial Justice Program

Registration is open until February 27

What is Spatial Justice?  What does it look like in Minneapolis, Portland and Seattle? How can those in architecture, landscape architecture, community development, higher education, and real estate development bring spatial justice into their practices and further efforts to create more just and equitable communities?

The 2026 Spatial Justice Program builds on the success of the pioneering Pacific Northwest Spatial Justice Cohort (PNW-SJC) in 2024-2025. The 2026 cohort is an expanded program of three separate cohorts in Minneapolis, Portland and Seattle. Program participants will build knowledge, learn new skills, network with other design and development professionals, and begin to actively participate in the just development of these three geographies.

The program also provides participants with the option to augment their skills in recognizing and bridging across cultural differences through the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and related skill building (an extension of the National Intercultural Leadership Program). Because Spatial Justice involves working well with a diversity of project participants, civic leaders and community members who may be of different cultural contexts, beliefs, or life experiences than your own, growing your capacity to connect across cultural differences can have real benefits to your effectiveness in achieving your Spatial Justice goals.

Class Description

Social and economic inequality are foundational parts of the systems and policies that govern the development of land and buildings in the United States. Various aspects of economic and social injustice are present, persistent, and even growing in Minneapolis, Portland and Seattle. The built environment can continue to support these injustices or be used as a foundation for change. As stewards and creators of the built environment, design and development professionals can support and implement spatial justice practices that foster justice and equity in these cities.

In this program, participants will learn the critical theory behind spatial justice from Edward W. Soja to contemporary design practitioners including Teddy Cruz and Danna Cuff.  We will also engage with local design and community professionals working on spatial justice initiatives. A blend of presentation and discussion in the program sessions will be an opportunity to build knowledge and new skills through reading, research, and conversation. 

Optional Add on Intercultural Development Inventory & Skill Building

Cultural differences show up in patterns of behavior that are common to groups of people who hold aspects of identity in common, such as related to race, ethnicity, gender, age/generation, geography, religion, socio-economic status, profession, workplace, and even political affiliation. The cultural patterns exhibited within architecture are somewhat different from those of landscape architecture, and from the cultural patterns of developers, social workers, parks and recreation staff, etc.

Intercultural competence is the ability to recognize and bridge across cultural differences. It is measured by an assessment called the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). The IDI has been taken by hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world and is designed (and has been rigorously tested) to ensure validity in both the US and globally.

Those who choose to include this add-on to the program will take the IDI assessment individually and will receive a one-on-one, confidential debrief of the assessment results with a qualified administrator of the IDI. These results will indicate your current level of intercultural capacity and point toward where and how you can grow your ability to recognize and bridge cultural differences. You’ll also receive a self-directed workplan specific to your results that can help you grow your intercultural competence, and you’ll be invited to join others in the program who also took the IDI for a focused skill-building session.

Cohort Leader

Paul Bauknight is an urbanist,  design activist, community leader, and educator. Trained as an architect, he has been working in community-based development for over thirty years. Paul is the founder of the Center for Transformative Urban Design; recent Spatial Justice, and Social Equity Fellow at GGN landscape architects; and the Civic Scholar in Residence at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and faculty for MCAD’s Master of Art and Creative Leadership program. Paul is also the Minneapolis/St. Paul convener for Reimagining the Civic Commons (RCC), a national learning network of cities focused on public space as connector and healer. He is the host and originator of “My Black Space,” a podcast focusing on spatial justice. Paul speaks, teaches, and consults on spatial and social justice nationally.

IDI Leader

Mary-Margaret Zindren, Hon. AIAMN, CAE, has served as EVP/Executive Director of AIA Minnesota, the state’s three local AIA chapters, and the Minnesota Architectural Foundation since 2015. For more than 30 years, she has worked with associations of cities, lawyers, and architects to further the common good and to ensure people of all backgrounds and circumstances are recognized, respected, and able to achieve their fullest potential. She is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) and facilitates the national Community of Practice for Culture Change. She holds an M.P.A. in public and nonprofit leadership from the University of Minnesota Humphrey School, and is a frequent facilitator, consultant, moderator, panelist, and keynote speaker on organizational leadership, board governance, culture change, and intercultural competence. Mary-Margaret received the 2022 Women in Construction Award for Service to the Profession from Finance & Commerce and served on the AIA Board of Directors in 2025.

Program

The cohort program will start in March 2026 with in-person introductory sessions in each city - Portland’s intro session will be on March 17. After that, sessions will be online once a month for 1 hour, concluding with an in-person presentation in each city in January 2027.  There will be a total of 11 sessions. The format for the sessions will be a combination of presentation and discussion. This program is a learning cohort designed to build connections and conversations that happen in and outside of class and last after the class is over. Therefore, continuity of participation is important. 

Final Project

An important part of the program is the required final project. The cohorts will be divided into small groups. Each group will be required to identify a local spatial injustice and design and propose a solution to it. This program is about changing the places where we live and work.  The final project is your opportunity to act on a challenge in your community. The final projects will be presented at our final cohort gatherings.