Humanitarian Design, What is it?

Refer to title. That question, the one of Humanitarian Design and its nature, is a tough question. And I am sorry to say that it does not have a concise answer. If I have learned anything in the past couple years it is that black and white bleed and cut and dry answers are difficult, if not impossible, to come by. This spring, I took a class appropriately titled "Humanitarian Design" to dissect the possibilities of this question. I think by the end of the next 13 blog posts, some type of answer will be defined. Most likely and indirect answer, one that will need searching for in the loose grammar and babble. For the sake of making the definition seem more nebulous, I am going to highlight glimpses of Humanitarian Design in my writing so that you might form your own definition, based off my reflections. I think nebulous is a great way to describe Humanitarian Design, its definition is constantly adjusting to parameters and sites and situations and histories. We can all learn something from the flexibility of its definition.

For ten weeks of my 2nd year at UC I studied this subject with Professor Michael Zaretsky. When I reflect on my application for this class, I marvel at its simplicity.

"This study abroad program interests me for two primary reasons. The first is the subject of the course, studying humanitarian design. For Christmas, my sister gifted me Design Like You Give A Damn, a book featuring humanitarian design projects globally, and charged me to do exactly that, design like I give a damn about the sustainability of our planet, the environment, and its people. The possibilities of my future are limitless, but my focus is very strong on using my talents and interests to help others and improve quality of life for all. I have a particular interest in the rural landscape of America, a place abundant in simple resources, but exploited in innumerable ways. I see this opportunity as a chance to make connections between the emerging ‘humanitarian design’ and a field I feel has yet to become fad enough to be heavily investigated, ‘rural design’.
The second primary reason I am interested in this study abroad program is because of my lack of travel outside the United States. I have never been particularly intrigued with exploring Western Europe as a rite of passage into young adulthood like many of my peers. Rather, I pour over the development of favelas in Rio de Janiero or the gentrification of slums in India and China to build sleek modern constructions. The dynamics of these developments provide me meditative exploration that make prospects of Paris or Barcelona or Prague pale in comparison. I have developed an itch for adventure, an itch to learn, and an itch to explore and this opportunity fits my interests perfectly."

It is understandable... we never can really register or remember what we didn't know after we learn something (check it... it makes sense).

Over the course of the class, I not only gained a sensitivity to the culture I would encounter in Tanzania and Kenya, but rather I learned a method by which I could treat all people with sensitivity, whether here in Cincinnati, back at home in St. Martin, Fayetteville, or Wilmington, or on the other side of the world in Tanzania. Every person has a unique history that requires your interaction with them to be deliberate and individual.

So, why was I going to Tanzania? Broadly, to witness sensitive humanitarian design work after having studied it for 10 weeks. Specifically? I was tasked with continuing research on way-finding signage for the Roche Health Center and the Shirati Hospital, as well as catalog as many construction materials and methods as I saw to create an arsenal for future studios.

Day one of the trip was travel heavy. Leaving Cincinnati at 11AM, the next day and a half would be a swirl of time zone changes and layovers.
Cinci - NYC - Paris - Nairobi

During the day and a half of being in the air, I had a lot of time to think about my role in this humanitarian design project. The roots of my definition of Humanitarian Design really took root during those rides and it helped to inform my actions following landing in Nairobi.