A lack of care over design decisions made in public spaces is a key source of inequity in America, New York designer Little Wing Lee tells Dezeen in this interview.
Lee, an interior designer based in Brooklyn, believes that poor design decisions in the public sphere reinforce a cycle of inequity in the built environment.
"When I think about aesthetic justice, my mind first goes to public spaces," she told Dezeen.
"I think about urban planning, urban design, landscape architecture, public housing ? we all see that there is this inequity in the consideration given to public works or how public monies are being spent."
"What leadership role can we take""
Lee said that even the most basic design decisions, such as the temperature of light, are aspects of this lack of consideration, noting that sometimes the choices are not about "even about money" but rather a lack of care. "These decisions are treated as less-than because the people affected have less agency," she said.
"As designers, we know that the negative emotional responses to these choices are universal, but in these instances that is simply overlooked."
Lee, who was a judge for the 2023 Dezeen Awards, wants designers to be more proactive in challenging these issues.
Little Wing Lee is a Brooklyn-based designer who recently released a line of textiles
"I would like to see this be a question considered by the broader design community," she said.
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