Planning History From the Lions’ Perspective: Reclaiming Black Agency in Planning History

Abstract

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Planning history in the United States is deeply intertwined with Black history. Yet, mainstream planning history narratives center White male planners and either ignore or present Black communities as passive victims. Inspired by the periodization defined by June Manning Thomas, this review provides a counternarrative of dominant planning history by centering Black experiences. This review reframes planning history across five periods: the Progressive era, the Great Migration, public housing after 1937 including World War II housing and postwar urban renewal, the civil rights era, and the 1970s and beyond. The authors suggest an extension of the final period to include mass incarceration and ongoing police violence. Centering Black experiences in planning history highlights the agency, power, and resiliency that Black communities have enacted despite dominant racist planning policies and practices. Takeaway for practice: With an understanding of planning history from the perspective of those oppressed by traditional planning, the oppressed will no longer be dismissed as passive victims but will be understood as active players in their lives and communities. Instead, the political, social, psychological, and cultural power dynamics are acknowledged and demonstrate the ongoing determination of an oppressed group to fight for empowerment and joy. This allows for power dynamics to be reimagined for a better future of planning with, for, and by Black communities and any marginalized communities.