The American Prospect has a very interesting article this week by Courtney Martin entitled "Architecture's Diversity Problem" that describes a new building constructed by architect Jeanne Gang in Chicago. The building is constructed to look like undulating waves that echo the waves in Lake Michigan just to the east but reach skyward for 80 stories. Architecturally, the building is very interesting and, though I have to admit I wasn't too keen when I saw the The Prospect's photo, is very impressive when seen from a distance for how successfully it creates this illusion from both the form and the materials used. What is more amazing than the quality of Gang's architecture, as Smith points out, is the fact that such a large building was designed by a woman.

It is not amazing because women are somehow innately unable to be quality architects, but the fact that there are so many barriers that prevent the entry of women into the profession that it is unusual to have a woman as successful as Gang. While the building has been highly praised and mercifully "critics have largely avoided drawing overly simplified parallels between the curvy construction and 44-year-old Gang's gender," Smith highlights how the fact that Gang's gender helped her approach the profession in a way different than the 85-90 percent of her peers that are male have contributed to the fresh perspective. Smith goes on to describe the structural reasons that contribute to architecture's persistently homogenous white, male composition including the lack of diversity in architectural schools, the expense and onerousness of the licensing requirements to become a certified architect, and the very harsh pay and work requirements expected of architects.

This might seem interesting but largely irrelevant, for an introductory post on the professional blog of a sociologist. But, in fact, this story hit a very personal chord for me because the sentiments expressed within this article actually paralleled by introduction to sociology. In high school, it was my dream to go into architecture. I loved art, and especially learning about how art reflected the culture and beliefs of people throughout history. Architecture offered a way to combine this love with my interest in engineering and understanding how way things work (the book of that name was one of my childhood favorites).

I was lucky enough to be accepted to architecture school and enjoyed learning the skills of architectural design (meanwhile learning that there are amazingly talented designers in the world); but, as I continued taking both architectural design and studio classes, I realized that architecture as a profession idolized the image of the "ideal man." It is not worth rehashing the four-year bitter love-hate journey that I went through in architecture that led me to the conclusion that I found so elegantly echoed by Smith in her article, that "the more diverse the nation's architects are, the more varied and exciting our cityscapes will be."

It was this realization, spurred by some incredible professors who opened my eyes to the structural causes of gender and racial inequality, that led me to sociology. Understanding how place affects the decisions that people make and, more importantly, how the construction of physical and social space influences affects what decisions people are able to make, informs most of my research. Studying how disparities in neighborhoods and places created by some of the same discriminatory forces that Smith discusses in this article, I hope to contribute to more equitable neighborhood environments and individual outcomes.

So while this is not a typical "Hello World" post, I think that it provides a more informative introduction for how I came to be here.

(Photo credit wjcordier via Flickr; work used under Creative Commons License)