The Psychology In Planning

In the class on Social Issues in Urban and Regional Development we have discussed some fascinating conversations on Social Identity versus Individual Identity. This is a vital concept because it shows an individual what they might consider to be the forefront of one’s life. Whereas the Social Identity is how each group saw Humanity portrayed as a whole and what values each group found to be detrimental to the human species. In the United States and countries and provinces that are similar to the U.S., the individualistic view of the world is much more valued. Everyone is told that they are unique and special and that’s what people strive for even when looking for introductions. However, I feel like it’s always a good idea to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The Social Identity portion of the discussion opened my eyes to what the world and it’s many cultures usually find central to humanity. My partner and I came up with three social values to figure out what is central to the majority of the human race. Equality, being the first followed by morality and helping. I found this conversation to be most intriguing because it brought to light the importance of the psychosocial side of urban planning. Urban planners have to take into account how a project or plan will affect the individual and even society as a whole.

The topic of Urban Renewal and how controversial it’s history is. The United States have been taking people’s private land and giving them unfair compensation for the land with the excuse that the land could serve at a higher purpose if owned by the government. One major case of controversy under the topic was the case of Kelo v. City of New London in 2005 when the supreme court ruled 5-4 of the land being used for “public use” that called for a developer to lease it for $1 a year. The developer was then unable to complete the project because of lack of funds and is now just an undeveloped empty lot. In some cases urban renewal has been beneficial to some communities, including cases where the government and has purchased land and have created public parks and recreational areas for the community instead. Overall the activity did provide information in fun way by showing us (the students) how it might feel to be on the other side of the podium (the professor).

I found the exercise on building a city with suburbs and downtown industrial area to be eye opening. It showed me how planning is different now then what it was in the twentieth century when the transportation group had to figure out where to put the interstate system and how there’s some things that must be taken into consideration when being a sustainable city like where and how is the city going to get its electricity and where is the waste going to go. We also have to think about public need and details like: does this suburb have a grocery store in close enough proximity or where will the jail be placed and the homeless shelter?

I completed an internship at the Bernalillo County Office working with the tiny house village for the homeless and getting to sit in and actually see how government officials make decisions on what they feel is the option for the community was enlightening. The project managers had to apply for a budget for the project and work out the details of how the community will run. They also had to get information on other tiny house villages around the country that have been successful for the homeless and find ways to implement those ideas into the Albuquerque area. The internship taught me how many different departments are involved in the decision making process of governmental programs for the city. It also taught me how much work and effort is put into having each department agree with one plan of action. Ideas were discussed week after week in two hour meetings. Then after the decisions were finalized it was time to inform the public and I realized that people are much more likely to speak out against ideas and plans then they are to speak up for ideas they support. It was an informative opportunity for the community regional planning major in me.