Week 4: Inequities in Urban Planning

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Consultation has concluded

The Presence of Inequities in Our Urban Fabric

How has urban planning perpetuated inequalities throughout our region? In this final session, you will join alongside students from the metro Atlanta region in discovering the complexities of our planning systems and how it manifests in inequality we see today. You will receive an overview of urban planning history, participate in conversations between subject-matter experts and community leaders, and engage in an interactive mapping activity to further your understanding of urban inequality.

The keynote speaker, Tonika Lewis Johnson, will introduce her Folded Map project, which connected residents from the north and south sides of Chicago through media. The following panel discussion will feature representatives from the Atlanta Regional Commission, which is charged with working with its local partners in bringing forth a resilient and sustainable future for the city.

By the end of this session, you will be able to confidently explain the role of historic and present urban planning decisions in reinforcing inequality; understand the value of equitable investments in infrastructure, transit, and other public services; and have discussions surrounding the importance of urban planning in enabling healthy, vibrant, and inclusive communities everywhere.

  • Check out Pre-session Content below to familiarize yourself with relevant resources put together by the sessions leaders. These tools will help you form a foundation for the week's session. Take a look through them before the session on Thursday.
  • Let's Talk functions the same as the ones found for previous weeks. Join in on conversations about inequalities in planning and share your perspectives!
  • Share your Ideas about your neighborhood and what changes you'd like to see.
  • Session documents can be found to the right. There, you will find relevant resources to help you start building a foundation of what you can expect for this week. Take a look through them before the session on Thursday.
  • You can find out more about your session leaders under Meet the Team.

Click here to go back to the main FLIP homepage.

The Presence of Inequities in Our Urban Fabric

How has urban planning perpetuated inequalities throughout our region? In this final session, you will join alongside students from the metro Atlanta region in discovering the complexities of our planning systems and how it manifests in inequality we see today. You will receive an overview of urban planning history, participate in conversations between subject-matter experts and community leaders, and engage in an interactive mapping activity to further your understanding of urban inequality.

The keynote speaker, Tonika Lewis Johnson, will introduce her Folded Map project, which connected residents from the north and south sides of Chicago through media. The following panel discussion will feature representatives from the Atlanta Regional Commission, which is charged with working with its local partners in bringing forth a resilient and sustainable future for the city.

By the end of this session, you will be able to confidently explain the role of historic and present urban planning decisions in reinforcing inequality; understand the value of equitable investments in infrastructure, transit, and other public services; and have discussions surrounding the importance of urban planning in enabling healthy, vibrant, and inclusive communities everywhere.

  • Check out Pre-session Content below to familiarize yourself with relevant resources put together by the sessions leaders. These tools will help you form a foundation for the week's session. Take a look through them before the session on Thursday.
  • Let's Talk functions the same as the ones found for previous weeks. Join in on conversations about inequalities in planning and share your perspectives!
  • Share your Ideas about your neighborhood and what changes you'd like to see.
  • Session documents can be found to the right. There, you will find relevant resources to help you start building a foundation of what you can expect for this week. Take a look through them before the session on Thursday.
  • You can find out more about your session leaders under Meet the Team.

Click here to go back to the main FLIP homepage.

Consultation has concluded

  • Pre-session Content

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    Please take a look through these linked resources before this session. It will help you be more engaged in the material presented and the discussions that will be taking place.



    Required Content

    Adam Ruins Everything - The Disturbing History of the Suburbs | truTV
    Watch — 6min
    How did racism dictate our urban form? Learn about redlining, the racist housing policy from the Jim Crow era that still affects us today.

    How The Green Line, a Pink House And 12 Cents Changed How I See My City
    Listen — 11min
    If you want to buy a house, you can get a bank loan .... right? What if banks refuse to lend to you, simply because of where you wanted to live?

    Where Banks Don’t Lend
    Read or Listen — 17min
    Lenders have lent more to a single white neighborhood than all-black neighborhoods combined. Learn why this inequity persists.


    Interactive Maps
    Before the session, please take a minute and locate your home on one of the following maps. Was your neighborhood categorized? What category? What do you know about how your neighborhood has changed over the last 100 years?

    Redlining in Chicago, IL
    Explore the areas of Chicago that have been historically subjected to redlining. How has that impacted the demographics we see today?


    Optional Articles and Videos

    What’s Kept Black Families Out of Atlanta’s Housing Market
    Listen — 4min
    In metro Atlanta, the number of black homebuyers dropped by half over the last decade. It was one of the steepest declines in the country. What's pushing this decline?

    How the U.S. Government Segregated Chicago
    Watch — 8min
    Chicago has a long history of racist housing policies that have led to a racially divided city – a major factor behind the city's reputation of violence.

    America’s Cities Were Designed to Oppress
    Architects and planners have an obligation to protect health, safety and welfare through the spaces we design. As the George Floyd protests reveal, we’ve failed.