Start Date
05/21/2016
End Date
05/21/2016
Description
Dostoevsky argued that the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons. If true, the environmental design of U.S. prisons suggests that we are not highly civilized as seen in countless social assumptions and values – e.g., some people are worthless and incapable of change. Many working for criminal justice and prison reform seek a new set of assumptions and values that recognize the humanity of those who offend, believe in their capacity to change, and prioritize healing over punishment. The Therapeutic Garden Program (TGP) at an Iowa women’s prison is one such effort making explicit a new social message – high quality outdoor environments are a necessity, not a luxury, for incarcerated individuals. Validating and normalizing these values requires the expertise of many disciplines gathering around a common goal: improving the lives of those, whom society deems valueless.
The multi-faceted TGP gives life to this message in the mental health and segregation units through an outdoor healing garden and by bringing the outdoors inside in the units’ enclosed yards, dayrooms and cells. Anecdotal evidence already suggests that the interaction with the landscape contributes to personal change and growth on the part of incarcerated women and the students involved in the design build. This personal change has the potential to lead to social change. This transdisciplinary panel consisting of TGP design and research partners and the prison Warden will discuss this possibility for personal and social change as well as the implications of the shift in values within the practice of landscape architecture, the design engagement process, and research outcomes and strategies.
Note: While each presenter will make unique contributions this will be one fluid (not five individual) presentation.
Location
Raleigh, NC
Distance Learning
No
Course Equivalency
No
Subjects
Healthcare & Therapeutic Design
Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Hours
1.50
Learning Outcomes
1. Understand how values influence one’s practice of landscape architecture
2. Be able to articulate an engagement process consistent with the values one espouses
3. Be able to articulate the importance of an interdisciplinary research team
4. Be able to argue for the personal and social necessity of high quality outdoor environments in correctional facilities
Instructors
Julie Stevens, Barb Toews, Amy Wagenfeld, Patti Wachtendorf, Rich Wener
Course Codes
Provider
Environmental Design Research Association