Block Party: From Independent Living to Disability Communalism reimagines the architecture of a section of Berkeley, California, through the perspectives of disability and housing justice. Created by a team of disabled and non-disabled architects, artists, and authors, the project asks: What form might a multiracial disability community take today? What kinds of housing and public spaces could support not only “independent living”— a historic demand by disability rights advocates — but also mutual aid and communal flourishing? Block Party explores how architecture can do more than accommodate disabled people in “accessible” buildings, public spaces, and landscapes. We propose strategies to challenge the regime of private, single-family property that dominate small towns and suburbs in the United States. The project presents a vision for a more just, diverse community where disabled people can live together and exercise individual and collective agency over their lives and environments.

Project Leads: Irene Cheng, David Gissen and Brett Snyder. Team: Rod Henmi, Jerron Herman, Georgina Kleege, Chip Lord, and student interns: Cody Burchfield, Isabella Teran, Ariana Contreras, Cameron Gillern, Fatema Mostafa, Genevieve Zanaska, Lina Kudinar, and Nicole Kuo.