Philippine fiestas serve as microcosms of regional identities and cultural practices, representing how culture is performed rather than statically represented. While the discourse on regionalism, such as critical and tropical regionalism, has sought to address regional identity, these theories have been criticized for reducing cultural nuances to mere aesthetics. Similarly in the Philippines, 20th-century adoption of styles like Art Deco and Modernism, as well as 21st-century resort recreations of nipa huts, tend to romanticize Filipino identity, framing it as a fixed entity of the past rather than acknowledging its ongoing hybridization. This research adopts the concept of hybridity, viewing identity as fluid and everchanging, integrating external influences while rejecting others. This raises a critical question: how can architecture, conventionally seen as static structures, adapt to a region's evolving identity? Drawing from Barbara Allen’s performative regionalism, this research repositions architecture as an evolving backdrop to explore how architectural and urban spaces are transformed to facilitate the performance of cultural activities. Within this framework, Philippine fiestas, as argued by William Peterson and Patrick Alcedo, become central to identity formation, where individuals actively participate in performances that express regional identities and negotiate conventional social structures. Through an analysis of the Ati-Atihan, Dinagyang, and Sinulog festivals—celebrated in honor of the Santo Niño—this research developed the “Fiesta Transcripts,” inspired by Bernard Tschumi’s Manhattan Transcripts. These transcripts map the relationship between architecture, space, and performance, revealing key architectural structures that facilitate regional activities like parades and processions. This spatial and relational analysis can generate a heatmap of cultural activity that informs design interventions that reinforce future performances of identity. Furthermore, this research supports the concept of hybridity and reveals the importance of procession in shaping Philippine architecture, offering new insights for culturally derived design principles.

For over thirty years, the construction of Interstate 27 in Lubbock, Texas, has exemplified how infrastructure projects can exacerbate social and economic disparities within urban areas. Although initially designed to improve connectivity and drive economic development, I-27 has instead created a stark physical and social divide. This highway separates the predominantly Black and Hispanic communities of North and East Lubbock from the wealthier, majority-white neighborhoods to the west. Compounding this divide, industrial zoning policies have relegated marginalized communities to areas exposed to environmental hazards, reinforcing systemic inequality and spatial injustice. This study employs a hands-on pedagogical approach, enabling students to collaborate directly with community members and tackle intricate urban challenges through experiential learning. The findings highlight the potential of combining technological tools, such as GIS and data visualization, with grassroots efforts and participatory planning to reimagine marginalized urban spaces as equitable and resilient. The research advocates rethinking urban planning practices by prioritizing local needs, harnessing community knowledge, and fostering inclusive development. Situating Lubbock’s experiences within a broader national framework, the study underscores how infrastructure and zoning policies have historically marginalized communities of color across the United States. It employs a multi-scalar perspective, examining the local impact of zoning decisions on daily life while linking these issues to broader movements for spatial justice, climate resilience, and sustainable urban growth. The study contributes to the field of architecture and urban planning by proposing a multidisciplinary, pedagogy-driven methodology. This approach integrates student participation, community collaboration, and advanced technological tools to address complex challenges. Ultimately, it seeks to advance equity, sustainability, and social justice in urban development.

This paper examines the intersection of queer identity and the built environment through the spatial practices of passing, flagging, and outing. Drawing on George Chauncey’s assertion that “there is no queer space; there are only spaces used by queers or put to queer use,” its analysis frames queerness as an active method of appropriating and reimagining architectural frameworks rather than an inherent or assigned characteristic of space. Each practice provides distinct strategies through which queer populations navigate societal constraints, reconfigure normative spaces, and resist erasure. Passing is explored as the concealment of queer use within normative architectural forms, such as the unmarked exterior of a bar or the adaptive reuse of an industrial warehouse. Flagging, as a companion practice, leverages coded signals like color, texture, and spatial arrangement to indicate queer use while maintaining discretion. Outing, by contrast, rejects normative frameworks entirely, transforming spaces into radical sites of queer futurity. The outcomes of this paper emphasize the layered and contested relationship between architecture and identity, demonstrating how marginalized communities use spatial practices to foster both refuge and resistance. The significance of this work lies in its contribution to discussions on the intersection of architecture, identity, and power, offering a nuanced framework for understanding how marginalized users reclaim and reconfigure the built environment. Ultimately, it uses queer practices of spatial appropriation to evidence architecture’s dual role as a tool of societal regulation and a medium for subversion.