Abstract:
A number of urban designers, acting on their own initiative, use creative tactics to challenge
the way community members and policymakers think about the social implications of the
built urban environment. This research capstone investigates urban design as medium of
social change through an extensive literature review guided by two University of Oregon
graduate courses, PPPM 523: Urban and Community Revitalization and ARCH 606: Bottom-
Up Urban Design, as well as web-based document analysis of several case studies. Based on
the findings, this study classifies urban design interventions as a form of arts-based social
change as defined by Animating Democracy and supports the need for further research in the
field of community arts on the social impact of urban design interventions.