Sheinberg Associates

A Viewpoint from the September American Planning Assoc magazine.
...While about Black planners and equity, as a longtime Alaskan, I always think about Alaska Native communities and equity when I read things like this....

VIEWPOINT
Walking the Racial Equity Walk
By Desiree D. Powell, MCRP

During my time studying planning in graduate school, the notion of race or racism was rarely discussed beyond Sherry Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation. But becoming acquainted with the reality of planning's racist past — and understanding the ways the built environment has deprived Black communities of resources — ultimately defined the planner I wanted to become. Through redlining, exclusionary zoning, and race-driven covenants, planning has provided the justification and the means to strategically divide those with darker skin away from others, with no way to ever see the greener side of the grass. I wanted to address that legacy.

But I also knew that a field that deliberately contributed to the systemic disenfranchisement of Black communities for decades had, for at least as long, no intention of welcoming someone who looked like me into the fold. Still, I chose to pursue a career in the field.

Today, as the number of Black planners continues to grow, the profession seems to encourage diversity and inclusion. Equity is treated as the cure for racist land-use and zoning decisions of the past. It's become the ritualistic chant of our profession: equity, equity, equity. And while some planners have made and continue to make ground, we are not seeing large-scale progress. To many non-Black planners, equity amounts to little more than a buzzword, a box to check at conference sessions.

As a Black female planner, it's disturbing to face what planning has done to our communities, on top of the internal trauma I take on as I push through everyday life while pursuing my own career. I want the rest of the profession to recognize the ways planning policies have created, implemented, and perpetuated the destruction of Black communities through systemic racism — and work to remedy them. But sessions, webinars, and training alone aren't enough. The conversations held about equity are not translating into meaningful action.

"If the field is to ever change, we must confront its demons: the systemic racism planning has perpetuated. It has been ignored and pacified for decades."
—Desiree D. Powell, MCRP
For me, other Black planners, and the communities we all serve, the profession needs to show what the equity pitch is really all about. How can we guide communities of color with the promise of equity when we have yet to see true racial equity embraced in our offices, practices, policies, degree programs, and national organizations? If the field is to ever change, we must confront its demons: the systemic racism planning has perpetuated. It has been ignored and pacified for decades.

True change, change that holds us to doing and not just talking, must move beyond the uncomfortable conversations. Planning schools must tell the full, often ugly history of the profession. The voices of Black planners — in education, research, and practice — need to be listened to and encouraged in a way that dismantles planning's stratification. And the field must create more leadership roles for Black planners so we can impact and change policies and standards. Black leadership ties directly back to the notion of planning with the people being served, not for them. Black communities need Black planners as much as Black planners need the opportunity to plan for them.

No more talking the equity talk. We need to walk the equity walk — in practice, policy, and the overall presentation of planning. For Black planners, these efforts will serve as the beginning of transforming the entire narrative of our profession. For Black communities that have been systematically neglected for decades, our work has just begun.

Desiree D. Powell, MCRP, is an urban planner focusing on placemaking in Texas and the creator of BLCK SPCES, where she writes about the Black experience in urban design.

Hoonah Friends— Please answer this 3-question survey on covid’s impact to your work and the local economy to help HIA with a Covid-19 Addendum to its 2019 Tribal Economic Development Strategy. Thanks!

HIA TEDS Covid-19 Addendum Help inform Hoonah Indian Association's (HIA) Tribal Economic Development Strategy (TEDS).

We had a blast being part of this team! Thank you CBJ, Alaska Planning Association, and MRV!

The Alaska Chapter of the American Planning Association awarded the community visioning phase of Blueprint Downtown “Most Innovative Planning Project” earlier this month. Blueprint Downtown is a CBJ Community Development Department project. The goal is to create a long-term area plan for the Downtown Juneau area that reflects current public desires and incorporates past work from relevant existing plans. bit.ly/2vZnUSH

The award was presented to CBJ’s Community Development Department and MRV Architects, along with Sheinberg Associates and Lucid Reverie. The Alaska Chapter of the American Planning Association found the community visioning phase of Blueprint Downtown demonstrated an innovative and visionary approach using state-of-the-art planning methods and practices. During the visioning process, more than 6,000 comments were collected, and input was gathered from an estimated 800 to 900 individuals.

Current Project Manager Beth McKibben and project manager during the visioning phase Laura Boyce accepted the award on behalf of the team during an awards ceremony in Anchorage. Congratulations!