Urban planning concerns itself with the design and uses of space (or land) that focus on the physical form, economic functions, and social impacts of the built and natural environments in cities, towns, and places in our communities. Although it is a formal profession and most local governments have planning departments, it is also a multi-faceted endeavor that involves the entire community and happens at many levels (from transportation to housing, the environment to economic development to local, regional, and state planning) and can include everyone from local residents and organizations to elected officials, when done well. Because it includes social, physical, political, and environmental elements, it is a very important discipline that has shaped our past and its tools and practices also help determine what our communities will be in the future.

The essays, questions, and exercises below will help participants understand the important role that planning has had on the past and present inequities in Richmond (and other cities) as well as the impact

the discipline can have on advancing racial equity in the future.

FEATURED ESSAYS AND MEDIA

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

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EXERCISES

• Take a drive through your community and/or from your community to or through a lower-income neighborhood - where are the dividing lines of race and class? What changes do you see in the built and natural environment?

• Find and review the master plan in your community. Go to your local government page and look for the planning department or google “Master Plan” or “Comprehensive Plan” for your city. What are the big goals for your community?

• Find the communities that have been redlined or had a highway go through them in your community. What was the neighborhood called? What highway went through it? When? How many businesses or homes were destroyed? People displaced?

• Identify 1-2 community development corporations, grassroots organizations, or churches doing good work in historically excluded communities. What work are they doing? Is there a way for you to support it?

EXAMPLES

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Read through the following questions and answer them based off what you learned from the readings:

1. Ebony talks about the physical differences she sees in the built and natural environments between the Long Island community where she grew up and neighboring white communities. What physical differences or lines of demarcation did you see in your community growing up or your current community?

2. Maritza explores what can be done from a city planning perspective to support racial equity. What are the city planning efforts going on in your community? Are there opportunities to learn or be engaged? What areas in your community were impacted by urban renewal and highway construction?

3. Reflect on the values presented by Michael Smith (respect of elders; solidarity in the pursuit of joy; trust and love of your neighbor; and the determination for collective liberation). How are those present in your life? Your work or community? What can you do to embody them or bring them alive in your life? Work?

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4. Reflecting on the essays and interviews in this section, what in your opinion are some key elements of creating more equitable cities? What do we need to do to make cities and communities more inclusive?”

One Pittsburgh

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/05/28/FOCUS-Pittsburgh-Hill-District-neighbors-stress-healing-development/stories/201705280006

Hill Homecoming Project

https://www.hillhomecoming.com/the-project

Domino Park

https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/thing-to-do/parks-recreation/domino-park/5611

Starr Hill Small Area Plan

https://dsqea5qjy0fgn.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/13181438/20191107-Starr-Hill-reduced.pdf

The JXN Project

https://www.thejxnproject.com/

Reconnect Jackson Ward

http://www.reconnectjacksonward.com/