Urban Planning

Indigenous-Led Environmental Planning: A Blueprint For Equity

November 27, 2024 Somia Sadiq and Desiree Theriault, Next City. Create! Canada, Indigenous People, Landback, Urban Planning

We gather around the dinner table as one of the participants starts a smudge ceremony. Among us are three women who transitioned out of the sex trade more than 20 years ago. They carry the deep scars of their pasts, including Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which shapes how they navigate our meetings. They only speak with those they trust. Their triggers — such as needing to sit where they can see everything — are reminders of how trauma shapes their lives. We know these conversations will touch on their past, but only at a pace they set. To rush would mean losing their trust.

Our Planning Process Is Broken; Street Experiments Can Help

October 29, 2023 Jedwin Mok, Next City. Create! Participatory Democracy, Street Experiments, Transportation, Urban Planning

Everyone knows how it goes: A street redesign is proposed to calm traffic. Municipal planners and engineers study the project for years, producing reports detailing its importance for sustainability, congestion reduction and traffic safety. Despite this, the project faces massive backlash at community engagement events, with residents complaining about lost parking and increased congestion. In the end, local politicians cancel the redesign, citing a “lack of social acceptability.” This story is all too common in cities across the U.S. and Canada, and it’s not because of “car culture” or “a lack of advocacy.”

Civic Innovation Is Flourishing In Cities Right Now

July 30, 2023 Hollie Russon Gilman and Grace Levin, Next City. Create! Governance, Participatory Democracy, Technology, Urban Planning

This summer, cities around the world are unveiling and expanding new tools and initiatives in the name of civic engagement and digital innovation. From Los Angeles to Lisbon, local governments are testing different models of outreach and participation with the promise of increasing trust and equity in civic processes and institutions. Ranging from online portals to citizen assemblies, the wave of experimentation in policy and design responds to historic levels of distrust and disengagement in government at all levels. The question remains whether these new tools deliver on their promises to effectively bring underrepresented communities into decision-making processes and increase transparency and equity in bureaucratic systems.

Disaster Recovery Efforts Can Serve More Than One Goal

July 23, 2023 Elizabeth Sawin, Resilience. Create! Disaster Recovery, Natural Disasters, Urban Planning, Vermont

In the aftermath of last week’s floods, my home state of Vermont faces a daunting path to recovery. Flooding damaged homes and businesses. Roads and bridges washed out, and communities have been cut off from the rest of the state. Vermont has walked this path before, after Tropical Storm Irene, and we are not alone in facing a recovery now. As the climate crisis deepens, more places will be spending more time in recovery mode. Recovery isn’t just a difficult task. It’s also one with lasting consequences. Rebuilt infrastructure will — hopefully — stand for decades to come. Over its lifetime, it will influence climate resilience, carbon emissions, health, well-being and social equity.

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