Community for Belonging Reading Group

Community for Belonging - Black and Architectural Insights on Designing a Just Future

Date: February 25, 2026

Time: 3:00-5:00pm

Location: John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, Eberhard Zeidler Library

In February, the Daniels Faculty continues its Community for Belonging Reading Group, an initiative launched in February 2023. The initiative focuses on raising awareness of the broad spectrum of identities within the Daniels Faculty community and provides a platform for engagement, interaction and discussion.

The next Community for Belonging event will explore architectural tools and attitudes to promote social justice alongside a series of short stories about imagined Black futures. The discussion will highlight dramatic responses to the question “What is the future of Blackness?” alongside considerations of inspirational stories and practical advice for those seeking a career in architecture while seeking to make a positive impact.

These two texts are natural companions as they speak to community-centred social justice.

21 Black Futures

In 2021, Obsidian Theatre engaged twenty-one writers to create twenty-one new stories about imagined Black futures. Twenty-one to celebrate Obsidian’s twenty-first anniversary in 2021. Each playwright was tasked with scripting a ten-minute monodrama in response to the question “What is the future of Blackness?”

Books will be available to registered participants on a first come, first served basis for pick up at the Eberhard Zeidler Library circulation desk starting September 15, 2025. We hope that you will join the conversation about Cities: Challenges and Possibilities

Architecture and Social Change: Shaping an Impactful Practice

Architecture and Social Change is a timely, and urgently needed, survey of social and environmental justice advocacy in architecture. Spotlighting contemporary design and research practitioners who are creatively leveraging their expertise for social change, this book features interviews with fifteen influential design leaders who are at the forefront of their profession’s efforts to confront pressing challenges like housing insecurity, racial and economic inequality, environmental degradation, and architectural waste.

An indispensable guide for design students and professionals alike, Architecture and Social Change gathers inspirational stories alongside practical advice for how to navigate a career in architecture while seeking to make a positive impact.

Copies of the books will be available in the Eberhard Zeidler Library on a first come, first served basis starting in early February.

The Community for Belonging Reading Group is sponsored by U of T Affinity Partners, Manulife and TD Insurance.

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