Get Involved

We want to make it easier for communities to shape the places where they live. Help us make it happen.

Support Our Work

Community engagement event in West Hill, Albany, NY. September 24-25, 2021. Photo: Christopher Brickman

We want to make it easier for communities to shape the places where they live by connecting them with our interdisciplinary network and sharing our long experience in how cities are designed and built.

Our north star is to help create equitable cities through inclusive design. As a design organization, our role is to forge new coalitions between designers, residents, and city leaders. When these groups share experience, knowledge, and resources, they are better equipped to advance design justice.

The stakes have never been higher. COVID-19 laid bare the inequalities that predated the pandemic, while also opening an opportunity to design our cities differently. Every member of the Van Alen community has a role to play in advancing design justice, and we are grateful for your support.


Collaborate With Us

We’re always looking for new partners who could be:

Installation of planters in Restoration Plaza, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn; October 15, 2020. Photo: Cameron Blaylock

Community Organizers

We work with cultural organizations, CDCs, BIDs, and organizers to help find design-based solutions for a community need.

Construction of a restaurant barrier prototype in Kingsbridge, Bronx, August 20, 2020. Photo: Cameron Blaylock

Designers

From design to construction, our work only comes to fruition with the collaboration and dedication of our professional network.

Keeping Current Climate Leadership Workshop, Miami, FL, December 14, 2019. Photo: Scott McIntyre

City Agencies

Our municipal partners bring a big-picture outlook and help grow our work from pilot projects to solutions on a larger scale.

Keeping Current Climate Leadership Workshop, Miami, FL, December 14, 2019. Photo: Scott McIntyre

Peer Organizations

We always love hearing from our fellow non-profits and design organizations about potential collaborations or idea-sharing.

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