DAAP exhibition explores how design and policy can shape housing
New approaches to neighborhoods, one block at a time
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As cities across North America face housing shortages and changing community needs, the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning is asking: How can design and policy work together to create better neighborhoods?
The answer is on display in “Block by Block: Decoding New American Dreams of Housing,” a public exhibition curated by Assistant Professor De Peter Yi. The exhibition opens Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 5:30–7 p.m. at GBBN, 332 E. 8th St., Cincinnati. It showcases two years of design research and teaching at DAAP and explores how zoning and building code reforms can inspire new models of residential development.
“Regulatory shifts influence not only individual lots but also the relationships among buildings across an entire block,” says Yi who is also the founder of Reuse Collective, a laboratory focused on revitalizing buildings through community involvement. “This exhibition shows how policy and design can intersect to produce spatial, social and environmental benefits.”
The exhibition highlights innovative approaches to housing, with accessory dwelling units, upzoning, lot splitting, single-stair exits and mass timber construction. It demonstrates how thoughtful design can shape neighborhoods, offering new ways to live, connect and thrive.
The exhibition is supported in part by the SOM Foundation Research Prize and the Simpson Collective for Urban Futures Grant. UC DAAP student contributors are: Jack Allison, Anna Burger, Alfred Carducci, Kiryce Fitzgerald, Ryan May, Paul Minnick, Pace Perry, Austin Shenk, Kate Stump, Caroline Theetge, Gabriel Willard, Ella Youtsey and Kenny Lam.
Sammi Klassen, Zakaria Essakalli, and Heather Cheng contributed to the project as research and design assistants.
Featured photo at top provided by Yi.
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