Architecture Professor Jenny Young’s latest book, Making Places for People: 12 Questions Every Designer Should Ask, co-written by Architecture Proessor Jenny Young and Architect Christie Coffin, won an Honorable Mention in the Book Category in this year’s Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) competition. In May, an engraved glass plate was presented during EDRA's 50th anniversary celebration in Brooklyn, New York.

Julie Williams Lawless, chair of the 2019 Great Places Awards Committee, said they chose the book because Coffin’s and Young’s work “exemplifies the mission of EDRA." The book explores social questions in environmental design, bringing perspectives from practice, teaching, and research to challenge assumptions about how places meet human needs. The authors argue that critical understanding of the relationships between people and their built environments can inspire designs that better contribute to health, human performance, and social equity―bringing meaning and delight to people’s lives.

Architecture Department Head Nancy Cheng said, “[Young’s] book reflects the heart of the School of Architecture & Environment’s focus on a human-centered design approach and comes out of many years of teaching our ‘Human Context of Design’ class.” The authors are grateful to the Tom and Carol Williams Fund for Undergraduate Education, which initially funded their work.