Abstract
Homelessness is a public health problem worldwide. System-wide failures often hinder solutions to this complex issue. In design and architecture education, the issue of homelessness is rarely brought into the curriculum. This paper describes how practice and theory related to homelessness can be applied to design education. First, a practice-based workshop was developed to enhance student reflexivity through exploring biases toward homelessness and applying trauma-informed theory to redesign products, services, and systems for homeless populations. Secondly, two case studies applied the theory deductively and critically reflected upon trauma-informed principles to housing and homeless design projects in hindsight and foresight. Our reflections show how a focus on homelessness as a traumatising social structure can support thoughtful, theory-informed decision-making. Further developing trauma-informed design methods holds promise to govern design research interactions with vulnerable populations. Such a foundation can influence student identity, leading to more ethical and caring design processes in the future.
Keywords
complexity; education; socially-engaged design; trauma-informed theory
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.365
Citation
Sturge, J., Persijn, C., Wens, L., Fleerackers, N., van den Elshout, D., Kohnle, S.C., and de Groot, T.J. (2026) Cultivating careful design responses to homelessness through practice, theory and education, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.365
Creative Commons License
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Included in
Cultivating careful design responses to homelessness through practice, theory and education
Homelessness is a public health problem worldwide. System-wide failures often hinder solutions to this complex issue. In design and architecture education, the issue of homelessness is rarely brought into the curriculum. This paper describes how practice and theory related to homelessness can be applied to design education. First, a practice-based workshop was developed to enhance student reflexivity through exploring biases toward homelessness and applying trauma-informed theory to redesign products, services, and systems for homeless populations. Secondly, two case studies applied the theory deductively and critically reflected upon trauma-informed principles to housing and homeless design projects in hindsight and foresight. Our reflections show how a focus on homelessness as a traumatising social structure can support thoughtful, theory-informed decision-making. Further developing trauma-informed design methods holds promise to govern design research interactions with vulnerable populations. Such a foundation can influence student identity, leading to more ethical and caring design processes in the future.