Designing Justice + Designing Spaces (DJDS), an organization currently in formation under the fiscal sponsorship of ADPSR, recently received a Thriving Cultures grant from the Surdna Foundation to perform community engagement and to design a peacemaking and restorative justice project in the greater Fruitvale area of Oakland, California. Under the leadership of designer and ADPSR board member Deanna Van Buren, DJDS will be working with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (EBC) and Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC) to launch a community-based restorative economics and restorative justice hub in East Oakland in the first phase of the Restore Oakland project.
Deanna was also recently named an Echoing Green 2016 Finalist for a Fellowship in Justice & Human Rights. Her stated goal is to “engage communities in the design and development of new buildings that integrate restorative justice, economics, education, and reentry housing to counter societal inequities evident in the dominant architectural models of courthouses and prisons.” Brava, Deanna!
