STRONG FOUNDATIONS: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF EDUCATIONAL ARCHITECTURE IN MITIGATING BALTIMORE’S RACIAL DISPARITIES
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The underfunding of public infrastructure in majority Black communities of the USA is an historic issue exacerbated by disenfranchisement, redlining, ‘slum’ clearance, and systemic racism. The Harlem Park neighborhood in West Baltimore needs a new school complex to replace the current Harlem Park Elementary/Middle and Augusta Fells High School building. The existing building is a relic of the disastrous 1961 Urban Renewal plan that created Route 40 (the “Highway to Nowhere”) and destroyed hundreds of homes in the neighborhood. This thesis will explore the role of educational architecture in both repairing a community harmed by discriminatory design and lessening racial disparities in education. As we grapple with yet another wave of societal reckoning, let us imagine a world where the children of Harlem Park have equal opportunity to a strong foundation of public education.