Radical Planning

This speaker series is part of an effort spearheaded by students to change the status quo of existing planning practices and challenge how conventional planning processes have enforced the material construction of inequities in the built environment. This speaker series will invite practitioners and community organizers to share lessons and tactics from their work. As activists working in real communities, they will inspire students, faculty, and staff with their visions and provide practical advice for on-the-ground change making.

Special attention will be paid to addressing lasting disparities and spatial inequalities that remain in part due to past planning actions. Students in the URP 611 section will explore these topics through attendance of mandatory Monday guest speaker sessions and discussion-based assignments. The course will empower students to collectively reimagine and implement new strategies in the future to address pressing urban issues and bridge the gap between reformist planning theory and practice to spur greater equity in the built environment.

Topics covered include: Indigenous land rights, racial and spatial justice, insurgency planning, collaborative planning, community engagement, urban informality, global planning approaches, community organizing, environmental justice, etc.

Goals of our Radical Planning Speaker Series:

• Elevate new diverse voices and perspectives and employ intersectionality;

• Prioritize skill-building and practice-based planning models;

• Enhance existing curriculum with underrepresented topics, tools, voices, and perspectives in planning;

• Cultivate a DEI-centric culture of inclusivity at Taubman;

• Foster a harm reduction space to acknowledge traumas (planning generated and otherwise). 

Meets

Mondays 11:30am-1:00pm,  Room 2104 A&AB