Adriana Valdez Young

I make platforms for people to learn from the micro- economies of cities.

Some recent projects include Play Before Plan, a mobile game series designed for planners and architects to experience and value the street-level trade of emerging immigrant and refugee communities; City Living, a housing design scheme for a permanent Occupy Movement in the heart of London's financial district; H&Mbassy, an exchange between fashion bloggers in Beirut, Tel Aviv and NYC on the relationship between shared fashion, divided politics and intractable wars; and City as Lab, a collaborative studio on local food systems for urban development students in Beirut and New York City.

I have designed classes and organisational systems for educational and design institutes including UDRI Mumbai, PUKAR, Parsons School of Design, LSE Cities, and Karaj Beirut. And on the side, I documented shopping mall cultures in Mumbai, Hong Kong and the Emirates.

But before I did any of these things, I co-founded English for Action, a civic engagement and language school for immigrant families.

Currently, I am part of a team starting up /The Rules (incubated by Purpose), and I co-edit Betta, an urban design and lifestyle zine.

I love learning the stories behind stores, documenting unintended uses of public space, and talking to strangers.