Danicia Monét Malone on public art and the built environment
About the speaker
Danicia Monét Malone is a cultural strategist, urban planner, and critical geographer whose work sits at the intersection of policy, public space, and aesthetic research. Currently pursuing her Ph.D. in spatial aesthetics and the racialized user experience of the built environment, her applied research focuses on Growing Cultural Literacy in the Built Environment to support the wellbeing of historically “othered” bodies.
As the Founder and Principal Interaction Designer at Rokh Research & Design Studio, Danicia leads community-rooted projects that bridge urban planning, public art, and civic design—cultivating spaces that are as liberatory as they are livable. Her work challenges conventional placemaking frameworks by centering regenerative cultural democracy and the lived experiences of marginalized communities.
She has held fellowships with Yale School of the Environment, Americans for the Arts, Transportation for America, and the Wilma Gibbs Moore Fellowship. Danicia holds a Bachelor’s in Urban Planning and Spanish and a Master’s in Nonprofit Management, with concentrations in peace building, sustainability, and liberation studies.
Her writing and projects have been featured in Forbes, The Washington Post, Fast Company, and Next City, among others.
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