Why study everyday life?

What changes when we start with the everyday?

When we think of social problems at the scale of individuals, our solutions are too small. When we think at the scale of unjust systems- like capitalism and racism- it can be hard to know where to intervene.

What if, instead, we addressed social problems by addressing the social context they’re in? We call these contexts arrangements, and they often hide social problems in plain site.

We invite you to study everyday life as a terrain full of social arrangements that you can intervene in!

What would you change about everyday life?

Some of us want to question teacher/student dynamics.

Some of us want to change how we talk about culture.

Some of us want to have public spaces to dance everyday.

Are there things in everyday life that you wish you could change? If so, let us know!

3 Techniques for Studying Everyday Life

Judith Leemann introduces our design tools

Featured
Hanging out at the Mall
Hanging out at the Mall

In many of our towns and cities, the mall is functioning as more than just a mall. It's a teen center, a walking track, a people watching place, a cooling station... the list goes on. In fact, the mall is playing roles that might be better played by other kinds of spaces- public spaces.

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Observing Fandom: Learning from the Ordinary
Observing Fandom: Learning from the Ordinary

Every year, there’s always a new sports season. These seasonal sports shape the experience of our town, city, or place. One way these events change our experience of a place is through the arrival of that particular sport's fandom. What are the sports events that affect life where you live?

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Space Bingo
Space Bingo

This is a great exercise to help you and your collaborators to talk about spaces and to look at spaces in new ways. It works equally well across scale, from a school campus to a city or town.

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Dive deeper into I-A-E

We created a systems design framework called Ideas-Arrangements-Effects, or I-A-E. Arrangements—especially everyday life arrangements—are a rich and overlooked terrain for social justice and world building. As you explore I-A-E, keep looking around you for ways our everyday lives arrange us. These are all potential places we can intervene and re-imagine.