Without new visions, we don’t know what to build, only what to knock down. We not only end up confused, rudderless, and cynical, but we forget that making a revolution is not a series of clever maneuvers and tactics, but a process that can and must transform us.
— Robin D.G. Kelley, Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination
About Spaces for Souls.
An emerging spatial research and consulting practice, Spaces for Souls “honors humanity” by interrogating spatial and structural injustices that distance communities from their inherent value and facilitating catalytic conversations to inspire action as we journey towards liberation. We seek to become a digital collaborative space that explores the complexities of the physical, social, and cultural spaces we inhabit and analyzes the intersections of Place, Liberation, Collective Power, and Individual Action. As we evolve, we also hope to expand our impact through project/program design and implementation of spatial justice-centered initiatives.
We believe in the transformative power of recentering humanity in space, honoring the emotional elements of our experiences in community building, and commit to exploring equitable ways to do so.
The Evolving Vision of Spaces for Souls
New visions of urban equity, justice, and liberation require new ways of being and new ways of doing. Newly founded in Fall 2023, Spaces for Souls is in the beginning stages of building coalitions and grounding our practice in our commitment to equity, justice, and liberation. Our Evolving Vision affirms our intended actions of contributing to new urban realities, while preserving necessary space for reflection, growth, and adaptation:
COLLABORATE
We seek to cultivate thoughtful partnerships with place-based organizations (1) to develop a broader network of justice-focused urban placemakers and (2) to co-produce knowledge, resources, and programming that strategize new urban realities.
CONNECT
We aim to bridge liberatory approaches and perspective to urban planning and placemaking research and practice through publications and programming and link community and global organizations to passionate, talented planning students and professionals who allow for expanded capacity through pro-bono cooperation.
CONVENE
We plan to initiate conversations on actionable pathways to urban equity, justice, and liberation in varied community contexts, host unique urban scholarship on our blog and portfolio, facilitate learning opportunities on urban equity, justice, and liberation.
Our Ethos + Intentions
Communities of color are frequently exposed to environmental hazards. Urban areas across Global Majority countries grapple with building communities in post-colonial contexts with persistent power imbalances. The climate crisis continues to disproportionately devastate vulnerable people and geographies. Though these are but a few examples of inequities represented in space, our work intends to examine structural centers of harm and begin to build new realities through multi-and interdisciplinary approaches to spatial practice.
Interrogating intersectional inequities in our built and natural environments.
Building sensitivities to Liberatory experiences and perspectives.
Reimagining relationships with ourselves, our neighbors, and our environments.
Recognizing our individual and collective power, limitations, and shared values.