Learning with Westlake: Thick mapping as a transformative method for urban design pedagogy and research

This article examines thick mapping as a transformative method that links urban design pedagogy and research with the normative aims of urban design justice. To demonstrate the possibilities of thick mapping, we analyze two community-engaged studio projects from UCLA's Urban Humanities Initiative graduate curriculum, focused on the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. Each project illustrates how thick mapping can advance justice in urban design pedagogy and research, while fostering reflection on issues of ethics and positionality. We argue that thick mapping offers distinct affordances for collaborative learning and community-engaged research, directing designers’ attention to the entanglements of space, agency, and narrative. In doing so, the practice illuminates key dimensions of urban design justice – distributive, procedural, interactional, and recognitional – positioning it as a dynamic method for connecting pedagogy, research, and practice to more just urban futures.