Protests : and the call for political architects

P R O T E S T S and the call for political architects

an analysis in Des Moines, IA

Mae Murphy ARCH 575 Spring 2020 City Research Project Prof. Liza Walling

P R O T E S T S : and the call for political architects

The City Research Project is a way for me to understand protests and the impact this recent civic engagement has changed participants within the architecture realm. For many people, the women’s march, #NODAPL movement and many others such as the “Reopen” marches have been the first time participating in these occurrences. As a midwestern privileged white young woman I have attended multiple protests in Des Moines such as the Teacher’s March, Climate Change Strike and the Women’s March. I also went to the Women’s March in Washington after Trump was inaugurated in 2017. I am aware that I may have some bias with these instances, but this is a time for me to reflect on my role as a future architect and the power it holds and use my knowledge to critique as well.

Research was conducted through a series of visual and audio primary and secondary sources along with personal experiences for participating in several protests. I found that by analyzing protests in terms of the impact in Des Moines, Iowa it highlights the juxtaposition between political change and awareness.

Creating a protest and sitting on the State’s Capitol building is a great way to target officials and gain media attention. Using our bodies as means to generate awareness is one of the primary functions we have as citizens in the U.S.

The first thing to acknowledge when understanding protests in recent years, is that people have the privilege to march/strike/advocate in the first place. It takes time, energy, resources and money to attend and plan these events. Due to the rise of social media a lot of the awareness spurs from outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. This level of connectedness allows people from all over the world to share their events, ideas, words, signs, and knowledge. Protests have become a physical way to use bodies in terms of advocacy and awareness. The sheer numbers of people in the streets of the Women’s March, the expansive Sacred Stone Camp are examples of the space required to protest. The space required to care about issues. In the case of #NODAPL, some of these people did not have a choice but to protest.

Their land was being taken, rights diminished and treaties disregarded. Federal and state reactions to these protesters were a lot harsher due to the topic of land control and eminent domain abuse.

It may seem easy to write off protests as people simply using privilege to chat, scream and say what they want without much political change to show for. However studies do show that no matter what political change, protesting is a way to use voices and share similar ideologies in a group movement. It is a way to visually prove that we exist, that we mean something in this economy, albeit as small as it may be.

Likes, live streams, article posts, photographs spread coverage towards these instances in an unprecedented way with the rise of social media.

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

Des Moines Women’s March, January 21st 2017, image courtesy of iowapublicradio.org

W O M E N ’ S M A R C H January 2017 (now annual occurrence)

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

Millions of people flooded the streets of cities across the country on January 21st, 2017. It was the largest single-day protest in the U.S. with hundreds of thousands in Washington D.C. alone. The sheer amount of participants gained a large amount of media coverage and insight into the democratic outrage due to the election results and the inauguration of U.S. president Trump that Saturday. The concern for women’s rights stemmed from candidate Hillary Clinton’s loss in the presidential election and the slew of sexists comments made in her regard from the president elect himself. Goals for the march were extensive but overall advocating for women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, gender equality, racial equality, worker rights, disability rights, immigration reform, health care reform, freedom of religion, and environmental protection. People from all over the world marched that day using handmade signage and “pussy hats” as a form of resistance. An estimated 26,000 people attended the first annual women’s march in 2017 on the steps of Iowa’s capitol building in downtown Des Moines.

For many people, this was the first time participating in civic activism.

Many argue that this first march was an example of white middle age privilege to participate in such marches.

Many of the organizers were white women and this begins to bring up the question: is gender justice not a part of racial justice or economic justice? The first women’s march has been criticized for its lack of inclusivity especially with topics of racism, discrimination, LGBTQIA+ inclusivity, and immigration. This third wave of feminism lacks an identity with intersectionality and this begins to become explicitly present within the women’s marches in 2017. The term “sisterhood” used frequently in the march protests is not entirely productive when advocating for women’s rights. Lumping all women under the same umbrella makes it extremely difficult to honor the different backgrounds and identities that overlap the way people experience oppression and discrimination.

The women’s march was a way to generate energy and media attention geared towards women’s rights however the act of protesting may have been a placebo in terms of creating real change. After the pussy hats and march signs were set down people returned to their ordinary lives with the feeling of accomplishment. We can agree that the large turn out spiked coverage towards these topics, however the somewhat positive energy stemming from this march placated the protesters.

P R O T E S T S : and the call for political architects

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

# N O D A P L P R O T E S T S March 2016- 2017

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

The Dakota Access Pipeline protests, #NODAPL, were grassroots movements starting in 2016 due to the approved construction of Energy Transfer Partners Dakota Access Pipeline in the U.S. The pipeline was projected to run across the northern U.S. from the Bakken oil fields and under part of Lake Oahe near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. The pipeline is considered a threat to communities surrounding the area’s drinking water as well as water supply used to irrigate surrounding farmland. It was also a threat to many indigenous burial grounds and ceremonial land of historical significance. This was also seen as a factor of eminent domain abuse to many. To quote author Nick Estes, “The radical scholar cedric robinson identifies this system in which a single white man owns more wealth and land than entire indigenous nations as a racial capitalism” (Estes, 29).

The Sacred Stone Camp was founded by Standing Rock’s Historic Preservation Officer LaDonna Brave Bull Award in April 2016 to house a place for protesters to seek resistance to the pipeline. By September NBC News reported that more than 300 federally recognized Native American Tribes were dwelling within the three main camps alongside an estimated 3,500 pipeline resistance supporters. These camps were established to host long-term residents in order to use physical space and bodies to protest the pipeline.

Contrary to the nonviolent police response to the Women’s March, several violent actions were taken upon the protesters. Starting in September 2016 when bulldozers were brought on site at Standing Rock to dig up a two mile part of the pipeline route harming Native graves and burial artifacts along the way. This action sparked movement and action to prevent the impending construction process on site.

Unarmed protesters were instantly met with pepper spray and aggressive guard dogs in an attempt to provoke the people. Iowa played a role in the protests by hosting a series of protests near the State Capital in Des Moines and hosting a 100 mile eight day trek through four of the 18 counties where the pipe runs in Iowa to generate media attention and host discussions with locals about the impacts of the installation.

Iowa played a key role in the pipeline construction and has been contested with counts of eminent domain abuse and environmental harm.

Several high profile arrests were made and as of mid September, over 140 arrests were made.

Accounts of harsh treatment due to the arrests were reported with evidence of strip searching after arrests and high pitched sound cannons were blasted to deter protesters. On February 22, 2017 the protest site was cleared after 33 more people were arrested due to the January 24th signed executive order from newly elected U. S. President Trump. This allowed the pipeline’s construction process to proceed.

Currently things are not diminishing. According to the Des Moines register, as of March 27, 2020

P R O T E S T S : and the call for political architects

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

‘ R E O P E N ’ C O V I D - 1 9 P R O T E S T S March - May 2020

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

Hundreds of protesters conglomerated all over the U.S. in protest of the recent COVID-19 Stay At Home orders taking place in certain states. Places such as Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, California, and Florida are experiencing severe pushback to the orders. The division between partisan protests is evident when conservative protests are using this platform to not only advocate for freedom to leave their houses during stay at home orders, but also pushing back on other issues such as freedom of speech, gun control rights, economic freedom, fears of leftist communism, and public health funding. At least four arrests have taken place currently from North Carolina.

Iowa has reportedly been a host of these ideologies due to a recent Facebook page with 200,000 followers encouraging and supporting these protests. According to the Des Moines Register, the Iowabased Door family and leader of Iowa Gun Owners have organized several anti-quarantine protests around the country in Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and New York. There have not been any protests in Iowa as of now (May 6th, 2020) however plans are in place according to the Des Moines Register news source.

These protests not only demonstrate the severe ignorance and intolerance to understand the complex issues at work with the Coronavirus pandemic, but also juxtapose the severe privilege present within the conservative protests. The fact that these protesters have the privilege to stand in groups of hundreds trying to speak their voice only proves the fact that social distancing needs to stay enforced. The conglomeration of protesters is a risk that will likely result in more cases and a higher spread of the virus.

President Trump has been quoted saying that he supports these protesters and the reopening of the states.

Many of them hold Trump 2020 signs and propaganda. These protests themselves are an example of people exercising their right and freedom of speech however it becomes a threat to the rest of society when the supporters in several states are breaking the stay at home orders and using the protests as a platform to display discriminatory ideologies.

P R O T E S T S : and the call for political architects

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

ARCHITECTS: A N E W E R A ( ? )

Architects often refrain from getting involved in political affairs. Oftentimes architects align themselves with the money (client) and do not take much say in controversial advocacy. After Trump’s election the CEO of the American Institute of Architects, Robert Ivy,

“The AIA and its 89,000 members are committed to working with President-elect Trump to address the issues our country faces, particularly strengthening the nation’s aging infrastructure. During the campaign, President-elect Trump called for committing at least $500 billion to infrastructure spending over five years.

We stand ready to work with him and with the incoming 115th Congress to ensure that investments in schools, hospitals and other public infrastructure continue to be a major priority. We also congratulate members of the new 115th Congress on their election. We urge both the incoming Trump Administration and the new Congress to work toward enhancing the design and construction sector’s role as a major catalyst for job creation throughout the American economy. This has been a hard-fought, contentious election process. It is now time for all of us to work together to advance policies that help our country move forward.”

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

This message of implicitness delivered from the hands of the AIA outlines the very script designers follow. After graduating school, conceptual work and programmatic planning nearly diminish. Instead working in an office comprises carrying out simple repetitive tasks towards designing a functional building within budget. The AIA code of ethics briefly outlines the standards help to the AIA consisting of quotes outlining “Obligations to the Environment: Members should recognize and acknowledge the professional responsibilities they have to promote sustainable design and development in the natural and built environments and to implement energy and resource conscious design.” This watered down statement in the 2020 Code of Ethics covers the bare minimum to address topics such as building material and climate change, however it is a beginning towards a direction when architects accept the role of protesters and use ethically respectful designing and building practices.

P R O T E S T S : and the call for political architects

What we do not learn in architecture school: is the fact that architecture is a business. We are participants in the nation’s economy by designing and building infrastructure that will inevitably get destroyed and rebuilt all over again. Why bite the hand that feeds you? Architecture has morphed into a tool of capital leaving designers to disregard environmental, social, cultural and political factors to please the system.

This research project is a call to arms for all of the unmarked students, all the biased professors, all the liberal theorists. Do not conform to the traditions and the pockets of the wealthy who own this country.

Protest the wrong. Use your body, your privilege, your skills, your theory to create a new architecture that respects native land, organizes economies, gives justice to social groups and organizations. Join movements, protest, share, speak and use your power. Des Moines, IA is as good as any place to use these powers. Firms in Des Moines need to be held accountable for who they are building for, what they are building, who is impacted and who is responsible. This is a call to arms for architects in Iowa to protest. To participate. To question the system. And to acknowledge the limitations of protest, but use it as a starting point.

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

P R O T E S T S : a call for political architects

Sources Cited: “6 Arrested in Iowa #NoDAPL Action, Including Unicorn Riot Journalist.” UNICORN RIOT, October 30, 2017. https://uni cornriot.ninja/2016/6-arrested-iowa-nodapl-action-including-unicorn-riot-journalist/.

“AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.” The American Institute of Architects. Accessed May 7, 2020. https://www.aia. org/pages/3296-code-of-ethics-and-professional-conduct.

Boden, Sarah, and Michael Leland. “Oil Pipeline Across Iowa Approved.” Iowa Public Radio. Accessed May 7, 2020. https:// www.iowapublicradio.org/post/oil-pipeline-across-iowa-approved#stream/0.

Boden, Sarah. “Thousands Rally At the Des Moines Women’s March.” Iowa Public Radio, January 21, 2017. https://www.iowa publicradio.org/post/thousands-rally-des-moines-womens-march#stream/0.

Clark, Tommie. “Protesters Vent Frustration about Controversial Pipeline.” KCCI. KCCI, October 7, 2017. https://www.kcci. com/article/protesters-vent-frustration-about-controversial-pipeline/6504219.

ESTES, NICK. OUR HISTORY IS THE FUTURE: Standing Rock versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long... Tradition

of Indigenous Resistance. S.l.: VERSO, 2020.

Gruber-Miller, Stephen. “This Iowa Family Is behind the ‘Reopen’ Protests Popping up across the Country.” USA Today. Gan

nett Satellite Information Network, April 23, 2020. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/23/coro navirus-iowa-family-behind-reopen-covid-19-protests/3010862001/.

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Moines Register. Des Moines Register, April 22, 2020. https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/poli tics/2020/04/21/conservatives-lift-iowa-business-closures-covid-19-aaron-dorr-kim-reynolds-sandy-salmon-jeff shipley/2997629001/.

Jeremy. “Trump and Brexit: Reality in the Balance.” Places Journal, January 1, 2017. https://placesjournal.org/article/reali ty-in-the-balance/?cn-reloaded=1.

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Access Point ‘NO DAPL’, September 24, 2016. https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2016/09/lockdown-in-iowa-at-missis sippi-river.html.

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2017), http://averyreview.com/issues/23/a-response-to-aia-values.

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Review 36 (January 2019), https://www.averyreview.com/issues/36/sherman-antitrust-act.

Przybyla, Heidi M. “Women’s March an ‘Entry Point’ for a New Activist Wave.” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information

Network, January 6, 2017. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/05/womens-march-searches themes-amid-concern-trump-gop-congress/96199000/.

Quarshie, Mabinty. “Is the Women’s March More Inclusive This Year?” USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network

, January 20, 2018. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/01/18/womens-march-more-inclusive year/1038859001/.

Wtvd. “At Least One Arrest Made at ReOpen NC Protest in Raleigh.” ABC11 Raleigh-Durham, May 5, 2020. https://abc11. com/reopen-nc-protest-covid-19/6152963/.

ARCH 575 / City Research Project / Mae Murphy

P R O T E S T S :

and the call for political architects

an analysis in Des Moines, IA