Activism By Design

Houston, known as “the energy capital of the world,” faces escalating climate risks from flooding, hurricanes, and sea-level rise, compounded by its dependence on petrochemical industries concentrated along the Bayou. While these facilities sustain millions of jobs, they pollute adjacent neighborhoods, driving severe health inequities and amplifying storm-surge hazards. This study began with a game that challenged narratives preserving this extractive model, instead envisioning a Just Transition prioritizing community health, equity, and ecological regeneration. Using Manchester—a fence-line neighborhood surrounded by refineries, highways, and rail lines with elevated cancer and asthma rates—as a case study, we developed three design catalysts: Another Hartman, an expanded community center with health services, clean-air spaces, energy education, and urban farming; Manchester Power Co-op, a resident-led solar and battery network using non-toxic Redox Flow Batteries; and Soil Remediation Landtrust, a network of remediated green spaces, forests, and food gardens. Developed in an option studio at Harvard GSD, these strategies were presented as a mobile foldable exhibition to empower local agency.