Divergence / convergence: caribbean diaspora as case study for advancing inclusive community engagement

Similar to other community formations, Afro-Caribbean identities are sustained by fulfilling instrumental and expressive needs wherever Afro-Caribbean individuals are situated, owing to the inherent diasporic nature of the community resulting from colonial regimes that sought to erase, displace, and relocate them. Crucial to this dynamic are the structures of integration within the host society. For many, the new environment they inhabit has been intentionally designed to deny their very existence. Traditionally, and to date, landscape architecture design processes have been concentrated around Eurocentric perspectives, overlooking alternative and marginalized discourses from non-Anglo-European contexts. This limited viewpoint and lack of critical engagement mirror the constraints of educational and professional institutions where design is taught and practiced, as well as the broader socio-political systems in which design is embedded. For many marginalized communities, the continuous perpetuation of the matrix of domination through design processes at every level generates a feeling of alterity. This feeling of not belonging is further enhanced for those belonging to the Afro-Caribbean community who experience a fluidity of intersecting narratives and identities. This work acts as a conduit to preserve the collective wisdom of the Afro-Caribbean lived experiences and to situate the Afro-Caribbean voice within landscape architecture and community engagement. It explores the tools necessary to build a transparent, accessible, and collaborative approach to engagement that values the knowledge and experiences of those directly impacted by the design process through intersectionality, seeking to alter how landscape architects and designers engage with marginalized communities to better include, protect, and uplift the voices of those continuously left at the margins. ; May 2024