The Invisible Neighborhood: Designing for Intersectionality

Abstract

This thesis explores a resilient neighborhood and school for Black and Brown disabled communities displaced by climate change in New York City, New York. Marginalized communities around the world are constantly displaced due to climate disasters. But the people most affected are those at the intersection of those groups. These communities typically live in lower-status neighborhoods incapable of withstanding a climate disaster, which is becoming more frequent as climate change becomes a more persistent issue. Black and brown disabled communities are at the heart of the groups, often overlooked during a climate crisis and often displaced from their support groups and at a higher risk for mortality during an event. Exploring the design of a resilient neighborhood that prioritizes these communities would set the framework for future development and prevention of disproportionate impact on them.