Repairing past harm: Do designers and planners have a role?

In a recent On the Park Bench webinar, CNU board member and former New York City Parks Commissioner Mitch Silver discussed the harm inflicted on black communities by the planning profession. He made the case for planners to mitigate inequities of historic land-use decisions.

Silver quoted the code of ethics of the American Institute of Certified Planners, of which he recently served as president. “We need to recognize as planners our unique responsibility to eliminate historic patterns of inequity tied to planning decisions represented in documents such as zoning ordinances and land use plans,” he said, adding, “Recognize and work to mitigate the impacts of existing plans and procedures that result in patterns of discrimination, displacement, and environmental injustice.”

Silver has used that code as a rallying cry when going into neighborhoods, always keeping it in mind. The webinar was the same main stage presentation that Silver gave to CNU 31 in Charlotte, and he pointed out that the conference hotel is located in the former Brooklyn Village. This predominantly Black neighborhood was razed in Charlotte’s first wave of urban renewal. “As we plan for places, we have got to understand the history,” he says. “People are still holding these harmful and painful memories.”

See the webinar:

This article addresses CNU’s Strategic Plan goal of growing the supply of neighborhoods that are both walkable and affordable.