Now in its ninth year, Design in Public's Seattle Design Festival explores how urbanism, architecture, and design can further justice, ecology, and community by featuring art installations and events in public spaces. The theme this year, "balance," is inspired by the equilibrium of the natural world contrasted with institutional injustices within our society, offering attendees plenty of opportunities to ruminate on changes they'd like to see happen in Seattle. After a Design Crawl (Aug 17) that invites you to stop for open studios, workshops, and exhibits as you wander through Capitol Hill, other notable happenings in the festival's first couple of weeks include a Northwest Film Forum screening of Jill Magid’s 2018 documentary about Mexican architect Luis Barragán, The Proposal (Aug 17), a Lid I-5 Study Area Tour with the Freeway Park Association (Aug 17), and a Block Party in Lake Union Park (Aug 24-25) promising live performances and large-scale installations.