{"id":66444,"date":"2026-02-16T13:01:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T18:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=66444"},"modified":"2026-04-03T16:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T20:54:24","slug":"osore-blackspace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/osore-blackspace\/","title":{"rendered":"Alum Leads Urban Design Collective that Preserves Black Community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Emma Osore \u201909 is executive director of BlackSpace, which unites planners, architects, activists, and others in a common cause<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By <strong>Joe Wilensky<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Emma Osore \u201909 was in high school when she attended a town hall meeting that sparked a passion for urban planning and community design. It was an unlikely circumstance, she admits, as most teens don\u2019t attend town halls\u2014or even know that urban planning is a profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Osore\u2019s mother had brought her along to the meeting, a design session led by local planners aiming to redevelop her neighborhood in Prince George\u2019s County, MD, into an arts district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe were seeing these visuals, these designs, of how our neighborhood could look in the future,\u201d Osore recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Emma Osore and another BlackSpace staffer give out information while tabling during a Juneteenth celebration in 2019\" class=\"wp-image-66437\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/BlackSpace-Community-Engagement-at-Juneteenth-Celebration-at-Weeksville-Heritage-Center-2019-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tabling for BlackSpace during a 2022 Juneteenth celebration.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The planners shared various renderings and asked residents which they liked\u2014and what they wanted for their community. For Osore, the exercise was transformative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI found it very empowering, even as a young person,\u201d she says, \u201cthat I could participate and see this vision of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, Osore is the co-founder and executive director of a collective of planners, architects, artists, and designers who work to protect, elevate, and create Black spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Based in Brooklyn, <a href=\"https:\/\/blackspace.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BlackSpace<\/a> is currently marking its 10th anniversary. And its impact has been notable, including helping to drive $1.3 million in investment into public space projects in the Northeast and reaching 22 million people with its educational content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The group has produced a Black neighborhood conservation playbook and partnered with New York\u2019s Council on the Arts to present workshops around the state; it co-sponsors a youth internship program in urban planning, entrepreneurship, and food justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The collective\u2019s planning principles have also been cited by several NYC municipal agencies, which have referenced them in environmental studies and design guidelines.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Community members add their preferences to redesign plans for the community Wolcott Street Farm in Brooklyn\u2019s Red Hook neighborhood, a project BlackSpace partnered on\" class=\"wp-image-66441 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-632x790.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-316x395.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-280x350.jpg 280w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-140x175.jpg 140w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-70x87.jpg 70w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-400x500.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-200x250.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A-100x125.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_0195-1-A.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><figcaption>Red Hook residents give feedback on redesign plans for a community farm, a BlackSpace-partnered project.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA lot of times in Black neighborhood planning processes, there\u2019s a focus on community centers and basketball courts, which are important,\u201d Osore says, \u201cbut our group has always wanted to then say \u2018Yes, and \u2026\u2019 What are the other cultural assets that sustain place?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>A lot of times in Black neighborhood planning processes, there\u2019s a focus on community centers and basketball courts, which are important. But our group has always wanted to then say \u2018Yes, and \u2026?&#8217;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That mindset can be seen in one of BlackSpace\u2019s earliest projects, which is ongoing: Brooklyn\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brownsvilleheritagehouse.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brownsville Heritage House<\/a>, a half-century-old mainstay of Black cultural life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Founded as a library\u2014one of 26 gifted to the city by Andrew Carnegie\u2014it boasted the first children\u2019s reading room in the U.S. That space now houses a neighborhood cultural center that includes an expansive book collection and a wealth of historic Black magazines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other ongoing projects include redesigning a community farm in Red Hook, Brooklyn; growing the neighborhood around the Imani Baptist Church in East Orange, NJ; documenting 62 Black historical sites throughout Brownsville via a storytelling tour; and co-designing a Boston-based program for women and nonbinary people of color in tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Emma Osore and BlackSpace leaders prepare to give a presentation\" class=\"wp-image-66442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/IMG_6899-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Osore at the podium during a 2017 event at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>BlackSpace also recently launched Studio KIN (Kinfolx Imagining Neighborhoods), a business accelerator aimed at nurturing Black-founded ventures while improving public spaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe want to ask the right questions, to launch stories that help us understand a community\u2019s themes and values, and to make sure that at every point along the way you\u2019re listening to people, and reflecting that information back to them,\u201d Osore says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> \u201cYou\u2019re building things together\u2014and you\u2019re building trust. That\u2019s how we make sure that the community\u2019s voice is respected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Emma Osore, right, examines a historic Black magazine at Brownsville Heritage House with Miriam Robertson, executive director of BHH\" class=\"wp-image-66438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-800x450.jpg 800w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-608x342.jpg 608w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-304x171.jpg 304w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-152x85.jpg 152w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-1184x666.jpg 1184w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-592x333.jpg 592w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-296x166.jpg 296w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-1264x711.jpg 1264w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-632x356.jpg 632w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-316x178.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/DSCF3347-A.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"rkv-image-credit\">Joe Wilensky \/ Cornell University<\/figcaption><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">With Miriam Robertson (left), director of Brownsville Heritage House.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As a child, Osore says, she was keenly aware of her environment and how people navigated both race and space: Prince George\u2019s is the most populous African American-majority county in the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI was a Black, biracial, queer child trying to find my way and how I fit into this American context,\u201d she says, \u201cwhere race is very spatialized and embedded in systems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I was a Black, biracial, queer child trying to find my way and how I fit into this American context, where race is very spatialized and embedded in systems.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>But after attending that town hall meeting with her mom, her trajectory was set. \u201cI was like, this is <em>it<\/em>,\u201d she recalls, \u201cbecause it combines place, people, and making change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an urban planning intro course on the Hill, she learned how zoning determines the shape of cities by dictating the locations of industry and residential areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd that opened my whole brain,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a system that\u2019s behind the way I\u2019m experiencing my city that people have decided to carve out, in a puzzle-piece way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As an undergrad, Osore spent a semester in the <a href=\"https:\/\/publicpolicy.cornell.edu\/ciw\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cornell in Washington<\/a> program and another in AAP\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/aap.cornell.edu\/cornell-in-rome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rome program<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery alignwide has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"453\" height=\"453\" data-id=\"66435\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/465723599_10109418705934605_9184670013714351207_n-A.jpg\" alt=\"Emma Osore and classmates during the Cornell in Rome AAP program\" class=\"wp-image-66435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/465723599_10109418705934605_9184670013714351207_n-A.jpg 453w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/465723599_10109418705934605_9184670013714351207_n-A-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/465723599_10109418705934605_9184670013714351207_n-A-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/465723599_10109418705934605_9184670013714351207_n-A-316x316.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/465723599_10109418705934605_9184670013714351207_n-A-400x400.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/465723599_10109418705934605_9184670013714351207_n-A-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/465723599_10109418705934605_9184670013714351207_n-A-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 453px) 100vw, 453px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"604\" height=\"453\" data-id=\"66436\" src=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/467504164_10109468539233275_4386794602419251784_n-A.jpg\" alt=\"Emma Osore and friends at Cornell commencement, 2009\" class=\"wp-image-66436\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/467504164_10109468539233275_4386794602419251784_n-A.jpg 604w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/467504164_10109468539233275_4386794602419251784_n-A-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/467504164_10109468539233275_4386794602419251784_n-A-316x237.jpg 316w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/467504164_10109468539233275_4386794602419251784_n-A-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/467504164_10109468539233275_4386794602419251784_n-A-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/467504164_10109468539233275_4386794602419251784_n-A-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\" \/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">With classmates in Pisa during her semester in Italy, and with friends at Commencement.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>She extended a winter break program in Nairobi by traveling to visit relatives in Kenya with her father, who was born there\u2014and began to envision a career combining urban planning with the preservation and celebration of Black environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After working at AmeriCorps and in the D.C. school system, she earned a master of public administration degree from Baruch College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BlackSpace grew out of a 2015 conference, held at Harvard, for Black urban planners, architects, artists, activists, and designers; inspired, they wanted to keep developing their ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignwide is-style-solid-color\"><blockquote><p>BlackSpace grew out of a 2015 conference, held at Harvard, for Black urban planners, architects, artists, activists, and designers; inspired, they wanted to keep developing their ideas.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(Its inaugural board includes two other AAP alums: Peter Robinson, BArch \u201998, and Ifeoma Ebo \u201901, BArch \u201902.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The collective has since sparked affiliate groups in municipalities beyond NYC\u2014from Chicago and Indianapolis to Atlanta and Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BlackSpace\u2019s founding manifesto outlines 14 guiding principles for co-designing projects by working in and with Black communities, protecting Black culture and experiences, listening deeply, accepting criticism, and catalyzing Black joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among its key principles: \u201cMove at the speed of trust.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Top: Osore at the Brownsville Heritage House. (Joe Wilensky \/ Cornell University; all other images provided, unless otherwise indicated)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Published February 16, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator aligncenter has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Emma Osore \u201909 is executive director of BlackSpace, which unites planners, architects, activists, and others in a common cause<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":66440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[51641,11446,64010],"footnotes":""},"categories":[229],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[535],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-66444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","cornell_year_post-535"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Alum Leads Urban Design Collective that Preserves Black Community - 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