Communities by Design (CxD) brings together volunteer professionals and citizens to build strategies that solve the most pressing issues facing the places we call home. CxD represents one of the most impactful investments ever made in communities by the profession and one of the largest sustained investments ever made in urbanism. The program has a five-decade track record of demonstrated success with tens of thousands of volunteers and citizens working hand in hand to benefit communities. Today, the initiative encompasses direct work in over a dozen countries across 5 continents, including communities in 47 US states. The outcomes have created international renown for places like the Pearl District in Portland, Santa Fe’s Railyard District and East Nashville. Several Kemper Award winners have emerged from the program as well. It has profoundly impacted how our profession approaches communities, with its methodology widely adapted to fuel thousands of additional processes and a global participatory urban movement in recent decades. Along the way, the program has influenced future Presidents and Kings, the Olympic Games and a spectrum of institutions. This session will focus on the core elements of the methodology that have made the program so impactful.
This session was recorded live on February 5, 2026.
Understand the guiding principles and methodology that CxD’s Design Assistance Teams employ to help communities reach more equitable and sustainable outcomes.
Understand CxD’s story of impact can be used as a powerful narrative for the value of architects, including how it has influenced future Kings and Presidents as well as its association with public service and many Kemper Award-winning architects.
Learn how CxD’s methodology has been successfully adapted by numerous institutions and organizations all over the world and how it can be adapted.
Apply lessons learned from case studies across the US and internationally.
Presented in partnership with Communities by Design (CxD).
Through decades of work in hundreds of communities with tens of thousands of volunteers and citizens, CxD Design Assistance Teams have proven that communities are at the heart of solutions to the world’s most pressing issues. Donate today to support this work.