CityLab Daily: How to Design a Safe Space for LGBTQ Youth
Also today: South America’s resort for the rich seeks year-round appeal, and Berlin’s beloved transit seat designs’ legal woes.
The Ruth Ellis Clairmount Center’s four-story mural celebrates its namesake.
Photographer: Zach Mortice/BloombergWhen the Ruth Ellis Center, a Detroit nonprofit that supports LGBTQ youth, began a foster-care program 10 years ago, it kept a low profile. Since then, things have changed: This October, it held a lively ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new permanent supportive housing and services facility for vulnerable young people in that community. The $18 million building features 43 units, along with amenities like a communal kitchen, fitness room and outdoor terrace. A four-story mural of its namesake Ruth Ellis, a Black lesbian and gay rights activist, graces the side of the building.
Behind its exuberant façade, though, a series of security and privacy features work to protect the building’s residents from threats — especially amid a national rise in violence and hateful rhetoric targeting LGBTQ Americans. Striking the right balance between outreach and safety is crucial at a time when LGBTQ rights and visibility are under attack, contributor Zach Mortice reports. Today on CityLab: In Detroit, a Home for LGBTQ Youth Balances Being Seen With Being Safe