Tania Allen

Bio

Tania uses geospatial analytics and critical cartography to investigate equity and access in the build environment, especially related to urban development and affordable housing. She combines strategies and methods drawn from anthropology, action research, placemaking and participatory design to “thicken” the way that geospatial data is visualized. Other interests include critical mapping as a participatory research tool, and examining the history and roots of the housing crisis and the way that issues of equity and social justice are manifest in the built environment. Tania is the co-director of the design research group co-lab, which focuses on critical mapping as a participatory design research tool.

Publications

• From the Observable to the Explorable: Investigating Creative Research in Design as a Means for Guiding Critical Action , Dialectic (2022)
• Walking the Line: Creative Research as Critical Activity , Design Culture(s): CUMULUS ROMA Conference (2021)
• Building a Culture of Critical and Creative Thinking. Creating and Sustaining Higher-Order Thinking as part of a Quality Enhancement Plan , 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION ADVANCES (HEAD'19) (2019)
• Solving Critical Design Problems , (2019)
• Critical Placemaking: towards a more critical engagement for participatory design in the urban environment , DRS2018: Catalyst (2018)
• DIY Cartography: Mapping as Analytic, Synthetic and Formative Design Research Tool , Design Communication Association (2018)
• Homeplace: A Conversation Guide for Six Communities, Rebuilding After Hurricane Matthew , (2017)
• Beyond the Map: Unpacking Critical Cartography in the Digital Humanities , Visible Language (2015)
• Studying Design: Exploring the Drivers of Design Theory and Practice , National Conference on the Beginning Design Students (2015)
• Maps, Mapping and Cultural Identity: Implications for Design , Infrastructural Worlds Symposium (2014)