The Journal of Design Strategies is published annually by the School of Design Strategies at Parsons School of Design. JDS is an international, peer reviewed journal committed to promoting cutting-edge research at the nexus of design, business, and social innovation. Both the Journal and the Stephan Weiss Lecture Series, with which the Journal is coordinated, are generously supported by the Karan-Weiss Foundation.

Read the Journal of Design Stategies - Volume 6: Designing for Billions

The current volume explores new opportunities for design in the context of emerging markets. Increasingly today, market and social actors including entrepreneurs, activists, investors and policy makers are coming together to envision and implement initiatives promoting broad-based prosperity and sustainable development in various locations throughout the developing world. And within emerging markets such as those of India, China, Mexico, and Brazil, designers are playing important roles: working with social activists to increase the efficacy of their missions; helping entrepreneurs develop new forms of socially inclusive enterprise; advising government agencies in the creation of incentive mechanisms that preserve the planet’s biodiversity; and leveraging the energy and enthusiasm of students to advance the aspirations of ordinary people in regions that today remain among the poorest on the planet.

Read our archived volumes:
Volume 5:Transdisciplinary Design, and Volume 4: Change Design

Designing w/ is a communication platform intended to document, present and reflect on courses at SDSS developed in collaboration with external partners and across The New School. Designing w/ is also about participatory design. Unlike the problem-solving approach that focuses on providing immediate answers to problems, our approach is inquiry-driven and collaborative. At SDS, we want to learn how to use participatory design methods to build a shared understanding of the complex challenges, identify new opportunities, and design multiple scenarios and solutions. Every year we develop and offer courses to study and intervene in the urban milieu by framing our work around human practices: urban recreation, education, reintegration, mobility, food systems, urban services, etc.

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The Integral City is one of the results of a collaborative project between The New School Urban Collaborative (Parsons School of Design and Milano Graduate Finance Lab) and Elsewhere, an experimental, living museum and artist residency program in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. Over the last decade, downtown Greensboro has experienced community vitalization through grassroots and city-led planning, infrastructure, and urban programming initiatives. Despite a population of 300,000, the downtown has struggled to attract and retain live/work resources, economic diversity, business longevity, and a design sensibility that re-imagines the downtown’s character and strengthens the city’s identity. SDS Urban Design students traveled to Greensboro and used collaborative art and design tools to identify, strengthen, and connect Greensboro’s cultural assets and naturally-occurring community hubs.

Read Integral City