Amos Rapoport and my journey toward Culturally Enriched Communities

Amos Rapoport’s attention to house, form, and culture served as the foundation for my development as an environment-behavior scholar. I am a refugee from Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean sea with a long turbulent history of colonization and war. Rapoport’s focus on culture reaffirmed in me the significance of everyday places and practices to peoples’ lives. My scholarship has thereby centered on exploring the role of architecture in supporting and suppressing peoples’ ability to thrive, leading to Culturally Enriched Communities, a platform to advocate for built environments where everyone can thrive. The chapter delves into how my journey builds on Rapoport’s seminal contributions in terms of focus, theory, methodology, narrative, and impact.