Our Mission

EDRA’s purpose is to advance and disseminate research, teaching, and practice toward improving an understanding of the relationships among people, their built environments, and natural eco-systems.

The mission of EDRA is to provide a collaborative, multidisciplinary community to connect theory, research, teaching, and practice to recognize, create and advocate for environments that are responsive to diverse human needs. EDRA is committed to equity, inclusion, and respect for all persons.

Our Vision

EDRA bridges theory, research, teaching, and practice to:

Recognize and create more humane environments in collaboration with global stakeholders/communities
Promote cutting-edge research and practice that is essential to improve quality of life for all people
Transcend disciplinary boundaries and industry sectors in collaborative pursuit of environments that are responsive to diverse human needs.
Advocate for diverse voices in the pursuit of social justice

The EDRA legacy
EXCERPTED FROM EDRA: "THE BEGINNINGS” BY HENRY SANOFF

EDRA came into being in the 1960s, during a period of social awareness and social unrest, but also new horizons and new visions. True to its origins, EDRA continues to believe in an agenda of social responsibility that has grown from a barely perceptible idea to a more fully-formed vision for healthier, more democratic human environments.

EDRA was not only a child of the 1960`s, but also a born-again organization, an outgrowth of the Design Methods Group (DMG) that had ceased to exist as a formal organization after its first meeting at MIT in June 1968. A small group of 30 conference attendees formed by Henry Sanoff, agreed to expand the interests of DMG at a meeting to be held tentatively in North Carolina the following year. Participants of this original meeting, sometimes referred to as founding members, included John Archea, Dan Carson, Gerald Davis, David Stea, Ray Studer, Gary Winkel, Tom Heath from Australia, and from the UK, Chris Jones, Tom Maver, and Tony Ward. Gary Moore and Henry Sanoff were asked to Co-Chair the Founding Steering Committee. Similarly, there was agreement at the original meeting to combine the independent efforts of organizations and publications seeking similar goals in order to overcome duplicity and redundancy for both the organization of the groups and the participation of the members. In the interim, and after much deliberation about the appropriate name, the Environmental Design Research Association, was formed by Henry Sanoff, in August 1968, who organized the first meeting in 1969. He also served as its chair until 1973 and incorporated EDRA as a non-profit organization in 1972 in North Carolina.

EDRA`s early years were marked by an unbridled optimism. There was a belief that a clear and conscious understanding of the design decision process coupled with a similar understanding of the methods and techniques used by the social sciences would provide the foundation necessary for ameliorating problems in the environment.

EDRA1 was organized by Henry Sanoff, held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina in June 1969, and sponsored by NC State`s School of Design and UNC`s Department of City and Regional Planning. Sidney Cohn, representing the interests of the planning profession, served as the conference co-chair. The original call for papers included issues related to visual perception, operational gaming, advocacy planning, design education computer augmented design, decision theory, design methods, artificial intelligence, environmental management, information systems, behavioral responses to design, environmental quality, and communication systems. John Archea described this period of EDRA as that of `inclusive images,` which would encompass behavior and the environment, or a holistic vision of the environment. This multi-disciplinary attitude grew out of an interest in general systems theory at that time, and was viewed as way to effect environmental change. This earlier vision of improving the environment for humankind has been more recently supplemented by organizational and architectural efficacy.

EDRA`s next 50 years

Celebrating more than 50 years of research-based innovations, EDRA exists to advance and disseminate environmental design research, thereby improving understanding of the inter-relationships of people with their built and natural surroundings toward creating and curating environments that are responsive to human needs. EDRA’s roots are strong and flourishing. Our organization’s vibrant network of visionaries, have anticipated movements in research and design decades before they would become mainstream.

EDRA’s members are at the leading edge of environment and behavior studies,evidence-based design, facility evaluation methods, sustainability, active living, participation, community planning, universal design, diversity in design, workplace design and informatics, design education, and digital technologies.

EDRA members are diverse, and we offer a variety of membership options to individuals with discounts for students and retired professionals. In return, our members benefit from discounts on conference registration, awards and recognitions, career postings, and many others. Not-for-Profit, Academic, and Corporate memberships are also available, with additional benefits.

Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) Downloads

EDRA 56 - Designing Communities for Climate Action and Resilience - Brochure