↑ PHOTO CREDIT: Anne Hamersky

Who Is Liz Ogbu?

A child of social scientists.

A Nigerian American.

A designer + spatial justice activist.

A healer committed to mending our relationship with each other and the land.

Liz is also a globally recognized thought leader. Her TED and TEDx Talks, which share a creative practice and life rooted in community wisdom and healing, have been viewed over a million times.

READ Liz’s FULL BIO

↑ PHOTO CREDIT: Nye' Lyn Tho Photography

What She Believes

Liz’s work is guided by a vocabulary of practice that she believes is critical to building a healing-based future.

Complicity in harm is not an option.

Normative practices for engaging historically marginalized communities and shaping their environments is rooted in systemic harm. We must work to break the loop of complicity.

Spatial Justice is a human right.

Spatial Justice means that justice has geography. Every human being deserves equitable access to the resources, opportunities, and outcomes that can support a thriving life.

Community-engaged design is our baseline.

Communities are experts in their needs and dreams. Projects and processes must honor this knowledge and co-power with them as the stewards of the places they call home.

Design as grief work is part of our journey.

The systemic harms of our society often play out on the backs of marginalized bodies and neighborhoods. Healing isn’t just about looking ahead but also properly grieving what has been.

Care must be our core practice.

It’s time we operate from a place of care, holding ourselves accountable to the people impacted by our actions and the deep relationships that are essential to engaging in that way of practice.

Nurtured risk is essential.

It takes courage to change the status quo. We must hold space for the vulnerability and creativity necessary for healing and re-imagination.

Place-based repair is the destination.

The intimate relationship between racial and spatial harm means that healing and reimagining requires a commitment to collective and place–based reparations.

Hear Her Thoughts

↑ PHOTO CREDIT: Woodland Park Communities