DNDA25 Organization
San Diego Tijuana Design to Action Networks
The Design to Action Networks (DANs), developed by the UC San Diego Design Lab, were designed by James White to activate World Design Capital 2024’s (WDC 2024) six thematic focus areas by connecting people, projects, and institutions through a shared commitment to community design-led change. The Design to Action Networks (DANs) supported and accelerated civic design in a binational, community-driven context. They treated design not as outside consultancy but as civic infrastructure: a process that communities could own, adapt, and sustain.
While the DANs were developed as a signature project of WDC 2024, they were not framed as “one-off” projects, but rather they aimed to seed long-term networks, across health, education, culture, and environment — networks capable of holding trust, aligning actors, and building confidence that communities could design their shared future.
For a deep dive into the DAN architecture, lessons and recommendations in applying design as a civic practice in their own contexts, download the white paper – Designing in Action.
Group Members
LEGACY DIRECTOR: James K. White
LEAD PROJECT MANAGER: Olivia Gale
ARTS & CULTURE LEADS: Susanna Peredo Swap & Rodolfo Argote
CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY LEADS: Lunna Pigatto & Hernando Dúran
HEALTH & WELLBEING LEADS: Jesse Rutherford & Angela Lucia Serrano Carrasco
PLANNING & PLACEMAKING LEADS: Bruce Appleyard & Dinorah Gonzalez
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LEADS: Bianca Alvarado & Maximo Matus Ruiz
YOUTH & EDUCATION LEADS: Jorge Francisco Sánchez & Joe Erpelding
STRATEGIC ADVISOR: Dr. Mai Nguyen
Social Media
Country
USASan Diego Tijuana Binational Region
