A4p strategic plan 141110 v1

Strategic Plan

Spring 2014 to 2018

BackgroundArchitects for Peace (A4P) was founded

in Melbourne, Australia in 2003 in the

lead up to the declaration of war on

Iraq. At the time many groups and

individuals expressed concern and

anger at the Australian government’s

decision to involve Australia in war.

The group’s formation was motivated

in large part by these concerns, and

a corresponding perceived absence

in the built environment sector of

a platform to actively debate and

denounce political acts with profound

and devastating consequences for

urban and natural environments and,

by extension, people.

Strategic Plan 2014-2018 / v1 PAGE 3

Since its formation, A4P has:

§ Brought debate and critical dialogue on issues of spatial justice to an inclusive, informal forum through free public talks between 2005 and 2013;

§ Held three free public symposia: IntentCITY (2004), Under Construction (2005) and Transported (2007);

§ Facilitated the practice of design for the public good, connecting practitioners with not-for-pro! t organisations in need, through a pro bono architecture program established in 2006;

§ Contributed to the publication and worldwide distribution of multi-lingual news, opinion and discussion not to be found in the glossy pages of industry magazines, through sharing news, monthly editorials and the book IntentCITY published in 2010;

§ Formed an editorial board made up of established thought-leaders based in Australia, the United States, Chile, Japan, Turkey and Egypt;

§ Provided an online platform for an international network of members and supporters to seek information, converse, share stories and together promote alternative built environment practices in the public interest.

Eleven years ago, the war in Iraq went ahead, in spite of widespread and public

objections in Australia and all over the world. It is telling that, at the time of writing in

2014, the current Australian government, along with several other countries, has yet

again committed Australia to military intervention in Iraq – again with an ill-de! ned

purpose and time frame. The consequences of this decision are yet to be known,

however what is already clear to us is a continued need to be vigilant: to recognise and

challenge the political forces that shape our environments, for better or worse. To refuse

to be bystanders. To take a position.

Planners, urban designers, engineers, artists, landscape architects and

citizens: we all have not just the capacity but the responsibility to be agents

of change for an equitable and environmentally sustainable society, based

on social justice, solidarity, respect and peace.

Background


Our Vision

Urban spaces that are planned, designed and used in the interests of social equity and

environmental protection.

Our Mission

To empower spatial practitioners and local citizens to in" uence urban development and

decision making for healthy communities and environment.

Our Values

Peace

Social justice

Health

Environmental sustainability

Solidarity

Respect


Our Operating Framework

Res

earc

h

Educa

tion

Campaigns

Partnerships


Our Goals

Goal 01: Further build a strong, sustainable and internationally connected organisation

Goal 02: Promote and defend sustainable and resilient urban environments

Goal 03: Contribute to establishing and maintaining more inclusive public spaces

Goal 04: Stand up for quality affordable housing and the right to shelter

These goals, and our proposed strategies to achieve them, are expanded on

in the following pages.


Goal 01

Further build a strong, sustainable andinternationally connected organisation

To have an e# ect on the professions of the built environment

we must be an e# ective organisation. To this end we recognise

that our members are our organisation. This goal aims to build

the capacity of our members in organisational development,

communication and engagement.


Strategies:

§ Review and improve our organisational structure, coordination and communications framework;

§ Foster and support an active local and international membership;

§ Develop a four-year ! nancial plan based on our strategic objectives and membership interests;

§ Strengthen web based activity to network and assist membership to further the goals of the organisation;

§ Adopt and promote methods of decentralised activity for the organisation;

§ Develop multilingual information platforms and an international network of membership committees of management in multiple national centres.


Promote and defend sustainable and resilient urban environments

The twin threats of political ideology and environment

degradation threaten the viability of sustainable urban

development. This goal aims to create awareness and change

through campaigns to prevent and address the harm to urban

environments posed by human and ‘natural’ causes.

Goal 02


Strategies:

§ Research, advocate and campaign for environmental and social justice;

§ Promote cultural and human rights by supporting campaigns that defend the right to the city;

§ Actively source and circulate alternative news and information from and about spaces of urban con" ict and environmental degradation;

§ Research, raise awareness of and campaign on behalf of minority voices and contested places;

§ Advocate for constructive, non-violent measures to address con" ict and division;

§ Promote activities to mitigate and adapt to global warming;

§ Campaign against environmental degradation.


Contribute to establishing and maintaining more inclusive public spaces

The nature of public space is changing under the pressure of

legislation, privatisation, coercive and self-censoring behaviour.

This goal aims to identify the extent to which ‘public’ spaces are

and can be truly free, " exible, accessible and equitable.

Goal 03

Image credit: Paul Irving, IntentCITY 2004


Strategies:

§ Identify and document existing public spaces and the forces that shape their changing use, tenure and management;

§ Promote strategies to redress the degradation of public space;

§ Promote and facilitate actions that positively enhance existing public spaces and create new public spaces;

§ Monitor urban development, particularly government policy decisions, processes, laws and management; campaign against those that threaten equitable access to public space.


Goal 04

Stand up for quality affordable housing and the right to shelter

The notion of quality and a# ordable housing is shaped by the

historic, national and cultural relationship of design, tenure,

! nance and concepts of social justice. This goal aims to research

and identify quality a# ordable housing opportunities, raise

awareness and a# ect policy.


Strategies:

§ Research and promote existing best practice examples of quality, equitable a# ordable housing design, development and policy;

§ Campaign for the right to quality, equitable housing;

§ Seek and create opportunities to contribute to public discussion and policy-making on housing;

§ Understand and present di# erent forms of and approaches to addressing housing injustice across the globe.


>>>

“The right to the city is far more

than the individual liberty to access

urban resources: it is a right to

change ourselves by changing the

city. It is, moreover, a common rather

than an individual right since this

transformation inevitably depends

upon the exercise of a collective

power to reshape the processes of

urbanization. The freedom to make

and remake our cities and ourselves

is, I want to argue, one of the most

precious yet most neglected of our

human rights.”

David Harvey after Henri Lefebvre

A4p strategic plan 141110 v1

Documents

Transcript of A4p strategic plan 141110 v1