Rice Design Alliance Civic Forum 2021

This February, millions of Texans were without power, heat, food, and water, during Winter Storm Uri, left to suffer the devastating consequences of an electrical infrastructure that has been spectacularly mismanaged by decades of deregulated policies. Texas’s isolated power grid nearly collapsed. In an effort to respond to the catastrophic effects of this recent storm, RDA’s Civic Forum 2021 considers the role of architecture in the resiliency of our infrastructure and energy systems. Faced with a crisis in governance and increased climate challenges, what can architects and designers do to impact the decision-making processes that govern Texas’s deregulated infrastructure systems? Can the organizing principles of architecture, coupled with state-led preparedness, generate the collective, equitable answers we need to survive the next crisis? Join us online for this urgent conversation. 

Rice Design Alliance Civic Forums take place yearly to look at urban and design topics that are of particular relevance to Houston and its region. As such, Civic Forums look to provide an open forum to discuss and analyze timely topics that are affecting Houstonians, but which also have a larger national and international relevance. 

To learn more about RDA Civic Forums and to view past Civic Forums, click here.

This event is eligible for one AIA/CES Learning Unit. Rice Design Alliance is an AIA/CES Registered Provider of quality educational programs.