How Urban Planning Keeps Cities Segregated – and Maintains White Supremacy
Diversity, Inclusion & EquitySummary
While one may think that cities across the United States are moving forward from their racist planning origins/policies, urban planning in fact, “is still used by some as the spatial toolkit, consisting of a set of policies and practices, for maintaining White supremacy”. Racial segregation, in many cases, was the intention of urban planning, as explained by Adrien Weibgen who is a senior policy fellow at the Associate for Neighbourhood and Housing Development. The Urban Institute also pointed out that higher levels of racial segregation were associated with lower income levels for Black residents and results in them being excluded “high-performing schools”. This also limits access to transportation, employment, and health care. Other types of segregation such as residential racial segregation continue to exist due to government policies that are implemented through urban planning. Now urban planners that come from diverse backgrounds are finding solutions to reimagine urban spaces by “dismantling the legacy of racist planning”.