Urban Design as a Collective Enterprise: The Challenge of Housing Development in Memphis (TN, USA)

This paper uses three theoretical frameworks to critically reflect on the outcomes and implications of an urban design process stemming from an action research planning experience. The process, focused on the re-development of a public housing complex in the Vance Avenue Neighborhood (Memphis, TN, US), was carried out by a community university partnership—the Vance Avenue Collaborative—playing a fundamental role in trying to re-orient planning practice and research in the city of Memphis. The paper offers some general insights to reflect on the role of urban design as a public and civic endeavor supported by collective interdisciplinary research.