UT Arlington Dillon Symposium centers on “Building the Just City”
World-renowned architects, criminal justice experts, planners, sociologists and journalists will explore the idea of “Building the Just City” at the Third Annual David Dillon Symposium Oct. 10-11.
County courthouses and jails often take center stage in many Texas communities. Those buildings serve as both the rail and the symbolic heart of justice systems in our cities.
“In recent days, as the events of Ferguson, Missouri, have reverberated around the nation, we have been confronted by the reality that the idea and experience of justice in the American city is contested and imperfect,” said Kate Holliday, associate professor of architecture and organizer of the symposium. “We have an enormous population living in the shadow world of the prison system, and our streets are becoming increasingly militarized. This year's symposium brings together an interdisciplinary group of speakers to examine the ways that we can construct spaces – in our streets and in our prisons – that better reflect our ideals of justice, fairness and decency.”
By placing architectural issues in this broad context, the Dillon Symposium, which is open to the public, encourages conversations and solutions to society’s most vexing urban problems.
The David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture, established in 2012 as an initiative of the UT Arlington School of Architecture honors the legacy of the longtime architecture critic for The Dallas Morning News.
The keynote speaker is Raphael Sperry of Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility. Sperry researches the intersection of architecture and planning with human rights with a special focus on prisons and jails. He advocates for design professionals to play a larger role in supporting human rights in the built environment. Sperry is a licensed architect and a sustainable design consultant. He is an adjunct professor at California College of the Arts and has taught at Stanford University. He holds a master’s degree from Yale and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard.
In addition to Sperry, Dallas Police Chief David Brown will address the symposium’s participants.
Saturday morning panelists will discuss “What is a Just City?” Panelists include: Anna Andrzejewski, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Colleen Casey, School of Urban and Public Affairs, University of Texas at Arlington; and Chad Houser, Café Momentum. Courtney Cronley, assistant professor of the UT Arlington School of Social Work, will moderate.
Saturday afternoon panelists will discuss “Designing for Justice.” Panelists include: Theron Bowman, assistant city manager, City of Arlington; Gregory Cook, HOK – Justice; Yolanda Lara, Dallas County Sherriff’s Office; Seema Yasmin, University of Texas at Dallas and The Dallas Morning News; and Sperry. Mark Lamster, UT Arlington School of Architecture professor in practice and Dallas Morning News architecture critic, will moderate the afternoon session.
The symposium kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, at 3015 at Trinity Groves, 3015 Gulden St., in Dallas. The panel discussions are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Nasher Sculpture Center, 2001 Flora St. in Dallas.
Visit the School of Architecture website to for more information or to register.
About UT Arlington
The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive research institution and the second largest institution in The University of Texas System. The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked UT Arlington as the seventh fastest-growing public research university in 2013. U.S. News & World Report ranks UT Arlington fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. Visit www.uta.edu to learn more. Follow #UTAdna on Twitter.
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