Smallx20: Twenty Years of Community Engaged Design in New Orleans | Maggie Hansen, Patty Heyda, Emilie Taylor Welty + Sue Mobley Moderated by: Ann Yoachim

Marking two decades of the Small Center’s work in New Orleans, Smallx20 reflects on the power of community-engaged design to shape neighborhoods, expand access, and strengthen civic life. Maggie Hansen, Patty Heyda, Emilie Taylor, and Sue Mobley examine how collaborative design practices that are rooted in listening, partnership, and local knowledge have influenced housing, public space, and urban resilience across the city.

Moderated by Ann Yoachim, director of Tulane’s Small Center for Collaborative Design, the conversation considers the evolving role of architects and planners as civic partners rather than distant experts. Together, they explore how design can respond to inequality, environmental vulnerability, and cultural preservation, offering a model for cities seeking to build not only structures but also trust and shared ownership in the process.

This panel is presented in conversation with Patty Heyda, co-author with David Gamble of Rebuilding the American Town: Design and Strategy at Small Scale, and Sue Mobley, co-editor with Paul Farber of Monument Lab: ReGeneration.

The New Orleans Book Festival brings the world’s leading authors to Tulane University for a multi-day celebration of their works. The Festival features both fiction and non-fiction and convenes readings, panel discussions, symposia and keynote speeches. It provides an opportunity for outlets, authors and readers to interact with each other in one of the most vibrant and culturally diverse cities in the world.