Earning skills and experiencing collective values through design-based university-community partnerships

Contemporary societies risk inequality, disintegration and segregation due to a complex array of social, economic and political changes that have been occurring over the last few decades. These changes include the loss of shared values, changes in how individuals interact and get together, and new practices relating to participation and decision-making. In parallel to the evolution of contemporary societies, a complex array of changes are transforming the physical environment where these societies live and work. These changes are affecting especially the disciplines that plan, design and transform the physical environment. New processes of transformation, new ways of interaction, new types of projects and new professional roles are deeply transforming the working environment of architectural disciplines. While these changes offer new opportunities for innovation, they also threaten to generate division in diverse and complex societies. Within this context, universities have the opportunity to expand their social responsibility by affirming that teaching and research can contribute to redressing social inequality, disintegration and segregation. This can be achieved through action, exploring new ways of relating universities to their social context by working with real projects and real people, establishing links between academia and practice.