Wes McRae | March 25th, 2024 – Atlanta, GA

In her recent lecture to School of Architecture students and faculty, Sharon Egretta Sutton explained how a community-based education can help aspiring architects become agents of change in the world. 

"Sutton is a fearless and inspirational leader," said Julie Kim, chair of the School. "She's an advocate for pedagogy that can help architecture students become leaders of public dialogue in the commons."

"She asserts that this offers a pathway for students to acquire the practical skills and habits of mind to help people work together toward achieving architecture's promise of improving quality of life for all members of society."

Sutton's recent book, Pedagogy of a Beloved Commons, shared her studies of how young people involved in community-based organizations undertook to improve neighborhood conditions without losing sight of people within the community. "Professionals often undertake placemaking, re-imagining public space, to increase the marketability of that space," Sutton said. "Critical placemaking instead overlays a social justice agenda onto the re-imagining process, centering community members as essential actors in enhancing their surroundings."

"Critical placemaking can help low-income youth of color change their circumstances in countless ways, like improving bad infrastructure, provoking dialogue on needed policy changes, or celebrating community icons."

Sutton used examples of several community-based organizations engaging in critical placemaking. "The kind of critical placemaking these groups engaged in occurs in community design centers, most of which are located within colleges of architecture and urban planning," Sutton said.

Because these organizations are centered in the community, individuals had to build community within the group to effect change outside the group, she said. "The young people in my study mentioned developing shared values across generations, practicing solidarity with their peers, families and neighbors, and having a sense of responsibility for improving their community and working on projects that took many years to realize."

"Such habits of mind equip them to take on challenges in an increasingly thorny world where people cannot agree on much of anything. In life, making progress really depends upon this idea of people learning to live together, to work together."

"Sutton is an educator and author, a fine artist and a citizen architect," said Kim. "And she is no stranger to breaking new ground in architecture."

"She is the first African-American to receive the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Architectural Education. She's the 12th African-American woman to be licensed to practice architecture in the United States, first African-American woman to be promoted to full professor, and the second to be elevated to AIA Fellowship. She also holds five academic degrees across music, architecture, philosophy and psychology."