A week ago I spoke about my "Game of Resilience: Bridging the Gap at my alma Mater, Princeton University. I had been invited to attend a small gathering of two classes experiencing major reunions. One of the presentations at this conference discussed the major construction boom occurring on campus, given by the architect overseeing the construction. I asked 3 questions, and I thought the most important question was whether Princeton had considered the impacts of trauma and how design could help mitigate some of its symptoms.
As a systems analyst, I pay close attention in the organizations I manage or are engaged with on the pace of creativity and innovation. Many readers may be familiar with Malcolm Gladwell's book, "The Tipping Point." In his book Gladwell discusses the work of Dr. Everett Rogers, who, in the 1950's, researched the spread of innovation among farmers. His research was later expanded to other areas. He described 5 stages of spread for innovation: Creators/Innovators, Early Adopters, Early and Late Majority and Laggards. My question about Trauma Informed Design told me that Princeton had not yet found its place. It was not Creative Innovative nor an Early Adopter. As far as I can tell, we are still in the Innovation/Creation stage.
Although articles have been published for a few years now, this one from Bloomberg caught my attention. It is well written from a perspective I teach. Alfred Adler and Simon Sinek both said more than a century apart that "emotion has no language." Safety can be described, but it must be felt to be effective.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news...healing-architecture
My first through about safe places started more than a decade ago. I tell my "Black Frying Pan" story describing my response to my mother's boyfriend beating her up after a night out. My reaction was to grab my sisters and put them in a small space in their closet, then stand in front of them with a black frying pan I picked up on my way to their room.
My first proposal for Trauma Informed Design was in a strategy for an alcohol rehab clinic. While we never made it past the concept phase, it was clear that addressing trauma through programs and places was important.
The demographics of childhood acquired trauma include college campuses, and as more minorities, with larger trauma burdens, are attending, I believe it is appropriate to start a wider spread of trauma informed design. We are probably at the innovative and creative stage. Please share whether your community has started to examine Trauma Informed Design.
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