Are Minority Planners An Endangered Species?

Assets Possessed by Planners of Color:Strong sense of social awareness and dedication to public serviceIntuitive understanding of planning as a very political process that helps to determine the distribution of social goods and “bads” in a societyGeneral commitment to pursue careers dedicated to positive social changeStrong skepticism about notions of “property rights” that trump public/community welfare or abridge constitutional liberties

Are Minority Planners An Endangered Species?

Liabilities Hindering Professional Advancement of Minority Planners

De facto barriers to gaining pertinent work experience while in school (limited access to professional contacts, existence of race-based “old boy/girl” networks)Limited opportunities to hone technical skills in real-world work situations (see above)Financial hardships due to mismatch between personal or family resources and rapidly-increasing professional education costsPerceptions on the part of some non-minority planners that ethnic diversity within the planning office is a necessary evil rather than an essential key to the effective planning and development of increasingly diverse communities in the U.S. and abroad

Are Minority Planners An Endangered Species?

Opportunities for Minority Planners to Help Enhance The Planning Profession

Continuing demographic change within the U.S. whereby a majority of the population will be persons of color within the next 50-odd yearsThe increasing impacts of globalization on urban communities in the U.S. and abroad, especially in the Third World, and the need to train more planners to help guide development in these communitiesGreater affinity of most communities of color for denser, smart-growth patterns of urban living (partial exceptions include some segments of the African American middle class seeking to escape failing public school systems and declining inner-city communities) Eagerness on the part of many minority planners to educate their communities about planning and get them more involved in the planning decisions that affect their lives

Are Minority Planners An Endangered Species?

ChallengesLoss of professional planning education programs at most Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and some non-minority colleges and universitiesLoss of federal support for planning education programs in all colleges and universitiesContinuing lack of public awareness about what planners do and why what they do is important for future development in communitiesInsensitivity to and/or ignorance about the historic role of communities of color in the shaping of urban and rural community space in the U.S.

Are Minority Planners An Endangered Species?

What Can Be Done? Some PossibilitiesAPA/AICP fund-raising campaigns to assist struggling planning education programs at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and other colleges and universitiesProfessional mentoring programs within APA (possibly through APA divisions or chapters) specifically tailored to encourage young professionals of color to join or remain in the planning professionUse of computer-based virtual-reality technologies to interest public school students in the possibilities of planning as a career (e.g., Sim City)Recruit minority planning professionals, including students, to work with communities of color in documenting and assessing their histories and community assets for revitalization purposes

Are Minority Planners An Endangered Species?

What Can Be Done? Some Additional PossibilitiesAPA/AICP fund-raising campaigns to set up and/or expand needs-based scholarship programs for prospective students with limited financial means (which are disproportionately people of color)Recruit minority professionals and communities of color to broaden the national constituency for the preservation and expansion of:

Essential public-sector community development and infrastructure maintenance/replacement programs at the federal, state/regional, and local levels

Land use controls that promote resource conservation, protection of sensitive environments, and equitable community revitalization/redevelopment