A trauma-informed landscape design process for transitional housing.
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The Person
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The People, Place, Pets + Plants
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The Process
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The Presentation
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The Problem
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The Project
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The Participation
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The Prompts
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The Performance
The Person.
My name is Rosie Yerke. For my master’s project in the Landscape Architecture department at the University of Oregon, I researched trauma-informed design at a transitional housing community in Eugene, OR, called Everyone Village. Throughout the year, I co-facilitated a series of participatory design projects on site that resulted in a conceptual site plan, some personal and community garden spaces, and an implementation plan for a transitional employment program.
The People, Place, Pets + Plants.
This project would not have been possible without my intimate and extended communities’ research, work, care, and experience.
I start by expressing my deepest gratitude to everyone who has shared, cared for, and contributed to making my life and work more healthful, connected, and joyful.
Research Sites
"The University of Oregon and Everyone Village are located on Kalapuya ilihi, the traditional Indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people. Following treaties between 1851 and 1855, Kalapuya people were dispossessed of their indigenous homeland by the United States government and forcibly removed to the Coast Reservation in Western Oregon.
Quote Source: (UO Libraries, n.d.)Today, Kalapuya descendants are primarily citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and they continue to make important contributions to their communities, to the UO, to the lands now known as Oregon, and to the world."
Image Source: (Native Lands Digital, n.d.)
The Process.
My master’s project website is non-traditional. The format is reflective of my non-linear, cyclic design process—a process that I adapted from the indigenous author and researcher Margaret Kovach. This process has 6 distinct phases—decolonizing ethics, researcher preparation, research preparation, gathering knowledge, meaning-making, and giving back. There is no specified order to the phases in this process or the amount of time required to fulfill each phase. Throughout the research, I bounced back and forth between the various phases of the process often, sometimes daily. At times, I followed my interests and curiosities. Other times, I allowed my co-researchers to be my guide. To share my work, I decided to present it in a way that is true to this method. I hope that through this website you will come to see the benefits and opportunities of this approach.
The Presentation.
I invite you to participate in this presentation through a (Q +A) Question + Answer. The last year of research has been rich with knowledge generation and a 30-minute presentation isn’t sufficient to cover it all. Nor would every component of the research be useful to each and every one of you, even if it was longer. Instead, I hope that by providing choices in the form of questions, you all can help me understand what’s important and impactful for you about this research.
The Problem.
Trauma is widespread. Nearly 70% of adults in the U.S. have experienced some type of traumatic event at least once in their lives. That’s 223.4 million people in the U.S. alone.
In public behavioral health, meaning people receiving care for mental health, substance abuse, and/or life stressors and crises…over 90% of clients have experienced trauma. (National Council for Mental Wellbeing. n.d.)
What’s more, trauma can have lifelong physical and mental consequences. Its effects can be multi-generational. Trauma rewires the brain and how we view and respond to the world around us.
Given the extensive and long-lasting impacts of trauma and its incredible prevalence in our society, it’s critical that we develop systems and processes that are informed by these traumas and their impacts on our families, friends, neighbors, and fellow community members.
While more research is needed to understand how to properly address trauma in all aspects of our society, many dedicated researchers, practitioners, and designers are working to find solutions. And a crucial first step is getting everyone on the same page about the importance of a trauma-informed approach.
And when looking at the current housing crisis, it’s clear to see that homelessness is not an isolated issue. It’s an interconnected web of systems and relationships that perpetuate misfortune on specific individuals in our society. The National Alliance to End Homelessness writes, “To end homelessness, a community-wide coordinated approach delivering services, housing, and programs is needed.”
To understand this phenomenon, we need a relational, ecological framework that takes a holistic look at the myriad of factors that lead to homelessness and trauma for so many. Thus, the Indigenous research paradigm offers an ideal framework to understand the relationships and circumstances that make up the complex issue of homelessness and trauma.
Following these lines of inquiry, my process has been rich with connection, questioning, reflection, joy, challenge, play, and opportunity. It is this journey that I will be sharing with you today. I hope you’ll keep an open mind about a new design process as I try to articulate the power and beauty of such an intention. It is these lessons that I feel are vital to the future of landscape architecture if we are to meet the challenges of homelessness and trauma in our society today.
Research Questions
How can a landscape architecture design process be trauma-informed?
In what ways can the designed landscape be trauma-informed to support present and future residents?
How does a relational research model influence the design process?
Shawn Wilson, Research As Ceremony
“And Indigenous paradigm comes from the fundamental belief that knowledge is relational.”
The Project.
Today, I’ll be sharing stories, concepts, images, and more about the trauma-informed design process that I developed for my master’s project. This will include some case study impacts [on people and co-design] that I’ve discovered through my work at the transitional housing community, Everyone Village, in Eugene, OR.
The goal of this research was to understand how the many contributing factors of trauma and homelessness impacted a resident’s ability to find healing, wellness, and connection. I experimented with a broad toolset with the aim of facilitating the supportive relationships necessary to generate healthier transitional housing environments and I employed a trauma-informed design framework to help me do this. According to the Trauma-Informed Design Society,
“A Trauma-Informed Design Framework is based on empirical and scientific evidence in the realms of psychology, neuroscience, and physiology, which is filtered through an equity lens, and applied to design. It acknowledges the prevalence of trauma throughout society, and the compounding effects of structural inequities on marginalized communities, and seeks to foster healing by promoting spaces that can reduce stress and create a sense of safety.”
The goals of this project are an expression of the epistemic beliefs underpinning my research process. In his seminal book, “Research As Ceremony,” Indigenous author and researcher Shawn Wilson writes, “An indigenous paradigm comes from the fundamental belief that knowledge is relational.”
The Participation.
I’ve provided a set of questions to help prompt the sharing of my work. I’ve prepared notes and visuals available on the Transformative Housing website, via the QR code below. The answers to the questions are also available via this booklet. Feel free to dig through the website or this booklet to learn more about the trauma-informed design process that I developed for my master’s project.
Decolonizing Ethics
ResearchER Preparation
The ‘Decolonizing Ethics’ phase aims to understand the “felt experience of colonialism and its impact on [Indigenous] people and knowledges.” (Kovach, 2021). In relation to my project, it meant understanding the power dynamics and relationships present in my research and committing to relational ethics that centered on consent, transparency, and accountability. The questions contained in this phase are focused on the philosophical, ethical, and theoretical underpinnings of my research.
Margaret Kovach describes “Researcher Preparation” as, “the experiential aspect of the research, including space for the inward knowing arising from personal experience.” Indigenous communities place a high value on experiential knowledge (Kovach, 2021). This phase helped me to explore my motivations and purpose for the research and to gain a better understanding of my influence on the work and the relationships existing within the research realm. The questions in this phase explore aspects of my histories and my inward journey throughout the process.
Research Preparation
Gathering Knowledge
The “Research Preparation” phase is about defining the research direction and selecting the appropriate methods to honor an Indigenous theoretical framing, including the standardized qualitative research design. The collection of questions for this phase centers on the specific research questions, methods, and design for knowledge gathering.
“Gathering Knowledge” is an expansion on the Research Preparation phase. The collection of questions for this phase highlights the knowledge gathered around the nature of trauma and homelessness, the site specifics of Everyone Village, and the application of trauma-informed design to support resident needs.
Meaning Making
Giving Back
“Meaning Making” is an opportunity to interpret the knowledges gathered. The questions of this phase are related to my findings from the research and assessing the overall impact of my trauma-informed design process at Everyone Village.
Lastly, the “Giving Back” phase is an opportunity for me to fulfill my responsibilities as a researcher. In addition to sharing my findings, it’s also a reminder to ensure that all research participants understand and accept how the research will be disseminated. The collection of questions for this phase centers on the various ways that I have aimed to build reciprocity, consent, and transparency into my process.
Margaret Kovach, Indigenous Methodologies
“Each value represents a strand in a web and is integrated and interdependent with the other strands.”
The Prompts.
For the Q+A portion of my presentation, I’ve organized the questions by the phases in my process. To help orient you, I’ll briefly describe each of the six phases and the types of questions you would find in each category.
The Performance.
On “The Feedback Form” tab of the website, I have included space for your feedback. Whether an appreciation, a coaching tip, a resource, or an evaluation of my process or designs, I welcome it. This is work I intend to continue doing at Everyone Village post-graduation so your feedback would not only help me but also the Everyone Village community.