To connect with hard-to-reach communities, a Twin Cities agency diverted some of its consulting budget away from national firms and to organizations that already had those relationships.
Local government agencies often say they find it difficult to identify and reach marginalized populations and gain their trust or time to contribute to a planning process. During a typical municipal planning process, those agencies often hire an outside consultant to conduct community outreach and incorporate that feedback in a final report.
However, consultants from outside of the community tend to lack the historical context of the area as well as the kinds of relationships that are only built with trust. As a result, relying on them risks eliminating the perspective of a broad subset of community members, often people of color. Without the expertise and true lived experience of all residents informing the outcomes, plans are often based on skewed narratives that in turn accelerate inequitable housing practices.
Over the last seven years, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul learned firsthand that engaging communities most affected by fair housing proposals early in the planning process is a necessity—and they developed a way to go about doing it better.
Ringing the Alarm
Entities that receive federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are required to ...
FULL STORY: Contracting with the Community
Planning and the Alt Right in the Time of Trump
The rise of white nationalist politics has many implications for the ideas of a just city.
New Book Highlights Human Side of Homelessness Crisis
A San Francisco reporter’s empathetic portrait of unhoused Bay Area residents reminds readers why supportive housing is worth fighting for.
Bridging Divides: The Crucial Role of Collaboration in Highway Removal
Highway removal is most successful when agencies at all levels of government work closely with each other and the impacted community.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Spring Spectacle: Thousands of Tulips Bloom at One of LA’s Top Gardens
Descanso Gardens, one of Los Angeles County’s most beloved botanical destinations, is welcoming spring with 35,000 tulips in bloom, creating a breathtaking seasonal display expected to peak in late March.
Ratepayers Could Be on the Hook for Data Centers’ Energy Use
Without regulatory changes, data centers’ high demand for energy would be subsidized by taxpayers, according to a new study.
City Nature Challenge: Explore, Document, and Protect Urban Biodiversity
The City Nature Challenge is a global community science event where participants use the iNaturalist app to document urban biodiversity, contributing valuable data to support conservation and scientific research.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research