How Students Benefit from a School Reopening Plan Designed for Those at the Margins

Design processes typically start with an average population in mind. As a result, “a lot of people who are at margins get left out, or we worry about them ‘catching up’ to the design,” says MIT professor of civic design Ceasar McDowell in a 2014 video by the Interaction Institute for Social Change. 

McDowell likens that approach to staking a large tent with poles at the center. When a strong wind comes, it will collapse. If, instead, the tent is staked from the outside, it is more likely to withstand the weather. That’s what McDowell calls “design for the margins.” He gives another example, this time involving humans: sidewalk curb cuts. Originally created to help disabled World War II veterans navigate urban areas with wheelchairs, curb cuts became a legal requirement under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act………………………………………………….