Promoting Diversity and Inclusive Communities

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• Apply strategies to educate and train practicing planners on diversity issues to promote greater inclusion in the workplace.
• Identify the pedagogical and practice gaps in understanding diversity in academia and workplaces.
• Understand the perceptions, viewpoints, and life experiences of professional planners on a wide range of diversity issues .

MORE SESSION DETAILS

Although promoting equity and social justice remains at the core of urban planning, a gap still remains between how institutions train planners to work in diverse communities and the knowledge, awareness, and skills required to become culturally competent practitioners. Additionally, there has been limited research that examines how practitioners experience diversity within the urban planning field and the steps necessary to bridge planning higher education and culturally competent practices in the planning profession. This session explores the results of three studies on diversity and cultural competence in urban planning education and practice which sought to understand the climate for diversity using a broad conception that includes race and ethnicity, national origins, citizenship status, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, age, family composition, marital status, and political beliefs. This definition recognizes the intersection of our identities and our experience of diversity within a personal or institutional context. A panel presentation on these three recent studies will explore strategies for institutions and workplaces to foster diversity, inclusion, and culturally competent planning practices.